Tan Xiwei, the deputy mayor of Chongqing, said during a recent interview that Chongqing will have 20 luxury cruise ships in three years and will develop them as a tourist destination on the Three Gorges.

According to Tan there are currently 12 five-star luxury cruise ships in Chongqing, according to Tan, and they are more popular than ordinary ones. This shows the demand for cruises from tourists are changing from the former sightseeing only to the current combination of leisure and sightseeing. Luxury cruises have a better added value than ordinary sightseeing cruises.

The new luxury cruise ships will have entertainment venues, supermarkets, swimming pools, and other service facilities. It is expected that there will be as least a million outbound tourists and five million domestic tourists each year taking a cruise to visit the Three Gorges.