(Yicai Global) Jan. 29 -- China's cruise market declined for the first since 2006 last year as the country's 13 cruise ports welcomed 18 percent fewer liners and a waning number of tourists.

Some 969 cruise ships docked at Chinese ports last year, Beijing Business Today reported today, citing data from the China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association and the China Ports and Harbors Association's cruise and yacht terminal division. The number of inbound and outbound travelers fell almost 1 percent to 4.9 million.

The sector has been struggling since the second half of 2017, one insider said, adding that most cruise ship travelers are middle-aged or elderly people who are thriftier and spend less than younger tourists.

China is hopeful that the slump will soon come to a halt. Its Ministry of Transport, alongside 10 other government agencies, announced in September that the country plans to make China one of the world's most dynamic cruise markets by 2035, when it expects to be boasting 14 million cruise passengers a year and have built its own large cruise ship.

That will mean luring back international and domestic cruise lines that are sending their ships elsewhere to avoid the struggling market. Norwegian Cruise Line's only liner to visit China, the Norwegian Joy, is set to head to Alaska in April after sailing around the country for just one year, the Florida-based firm said in July, and local company SkySea Holding International withdrew its Celebrity Century luxury cruiser from China in March last year.

Editor: James Boynton