TIANJIN - A national cruise liner tourism development zone in northern China's coastal city of Tianjin has received approval to be built, local authorities said Thursday.

The pilot project in the Binhai New District shows that Tianjin's cruise liner tourism is officially incorporated into the national development strategy, the city's tourism bureau said.

According to the China National Tourism Administration, the development zone will be the country's second after one in Shanghai.

"Cruise business is the so-called 'golden business in the golden waterway',"said She Qingwen, tourism bureau director. "Cruise tourism has already become a great engine for tourism development of the Binhai New District."

The international cruise home port in the Binhai New District was put into operation in June 2010. Since then it has attracted the world's three largest cruise liner companies -- America's Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Italy's Costa Cruise Lines. Official data showed that over the past two years, 85 international cruise liners have docked at the port. The number is likely jump to 90 in 2013 alone.