Cruises set sail as travel demand surges in China
International cruise operators said they are optimistic and confident about the longterm prospects of the Chinese cruise industry, as bookings have been consistently growing and they are developing more in-depth shore excursions to adapt to market demand.
The cruise line operator Royal Caribbean International said after China optimized its COVID-19 response measures and reinstated quarantine-free cross-border travel in January, demand for cruise trips among Chinese travelers has been steadily increasing.
More than 100 key outbound travel agencies are now collaborating with Royal Caribbean to promote and sell overseas cruise itineraries. Since January, about 10,000 passengers of non-group guests have booked the company’s overseas itineraries, with sales reaching 52 million yuan ($7.5 million), it said.
“It will still take some time for the industry to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels and the resumption progress of related services such as international flights and visa applications will also impact Chinese travelers’ booking of overseas cruise trips,” said Liu Zinan, senior vice-president of Royal Caribbean Group and chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises Asia.
International cruise trips that depart from Chinese mainland home ports in Shanghai and Shenzhen in Guangdong province had been given the green light to resume after more than a three-year suspension, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Transport in late March.
Before the full resumption of port itineraries in China, overseas itineraries will be highly sought after and are expected to see an increase in both individual and group travel, especially when international flight capacity increases and ticket prices stabilize, as a large number of Chinese tourists are likely to be eager to experience overseas cruise products, Royal Caribbean said.
According to a research report from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the contribution of international cruises to China’s economy reached 35.8 billion yuan in 2019.
By 2035, the Chinese cruise market will reach a scale of 14 million passengers per year, according to the Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of China’s Cruise Economy document that was issued by 10 ministries including the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission in 2018.
Following the path of highquality development, it is expected that the industrial and economic contribution of international cruises to China will reach 550 billion yuan by 2035, according to the report.
The rebound of the Chinese cruise industry will take time to return to pre-pandemic levels. The experience of the European and U.S. cruise market indicates that after the market restarts, it takes a relatively long time to deploy itineraries, resume operations and prepare marketing, Royal Caribbean said.
“Overseas cruise markets took almost 1.5 to 2 years to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, but we think the Chinese recovery will be faster. The sustainable development of the Chinese cruise industry, reform and opening-up is essential, and a more international, legalized and market-oriented environment is also expected by the whole industry,” Liu said.
Meanwhile, Norwegian cruise line operator Viking Cruises said that as the tourism market is recovering strongly and demand for outbound travel is rising, the announcement of plans to resume international cruises departing from Chinese ports has been encouraging. The policy will greatly boost confidence in the recovery of the entire cruise tourism market and help international tourism exchanges and cooperation, Viking said.
In response to the plan’s call, China Merchants Viking Cruises, a joint venture established by Viking Cruises and China Merchants Shekou, became the first international cruise operator to announce on March 30 a 15-day round-trip cruise tour to Japan departing from Shenzhen or Shanghai as the homeport for outbound indepth exploration.
“After the pandemic, the gap between escalating consumer demand and supply of quality cruises is more prominent among Chinese travelers. High-end tourists desire a higher-quality cruise experience,” said Tan Wee Hoon, senior vice-president of product development and marketing, China Merchants Viking Cruises.
“Therefore, the focus of the cruise line operator also needs to change from volume to quality and from price reduction to value addition. We have been more focused on providing a high-quality and luxurious cruise experience for welltraveled Chinese customers,” Tan said.