Looking ahead, we have strong confidence in the Chinese market, and I think now is a critical time to increase investment and expand into the Chinese market. ”On November 25, Tolstoy Hagen, founder and chairman of the board of directors of Viking Cruises, expressed his confidence and expectations for the future of China's cruise market at the 16th China Cruise Industry Development Conference, and revealed that in 2024, Viking Cruises will invest a total of 4 river ships to serve the Chinese market. It is expected that by 2028, the fleet of river vessels serving the Chinese market will be expanded to 12, and the operation of Viking Cruises' tourism products in China will be restarted next year, leading inbound guests to explore China's beautiful rivers and mountains and promote the high-quality development of the inbound tourism market.
A number of studies have shown that China's cruise market has huge growth potential, and its influence in the global cruise industry is becoming increasingly prominent, and the upcoming 2024 is expected to be an important year for the cruise industry to restart in the Chinese market. Coincidentally, Royal Caribbean recently announced that it has completed the deployment of international cruise routes in China in 2024, and its super-large luxury cruise ship "Spectrum of the Seas" will return to Shanghai in April 2024, opening a 4-night 5-day to 7-night 8-day cruise vacation routes from Shanghai to neighboring countries, covering Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Okinawa and other most popular tourist destinations in Northeast Asia.
With the positive trend of China's economy and the new trend of increasingly diversified consumer demand in China, the scale of China's cruise market is expected to surpass that of the United States in the future. According to relevant market research, by 2035, the size of China's cruise market is expected to reach 23.5 million passengers. By comparison, the U.S. cruise ship market is about 14 million passengers this year.
Judging from the routes that will be restarted in the Chinese market in 2024 that are being disclosed by various postal companies, Chinese customization and visa-free have become two key words.
As early as 2016, Viking Cruises took the lead in launching European river cruise products tailored to Chinese guests, including room facilities, onboard dining, shore itineraries and other full guest experiences, all customized according to the Xi and preferences of Chinese tourists, creating a more elegant and comfortable "elegant luxury" European journey with in-depth local culture. Subsequently, Viking Cruises and China Merchants established a joint venture between China Merchants Viking Cruises, focusing on "destination experience as the core", and created a coastal cultural tour with the first Chinese naturalized ocean cruise ship "China Merchants Eden", which was widely acclaimed. According to the survey, more than 98% of Viking guests said that their experience with Shanghai and river cruises exceeded their expectations.
As a major investment in Royal Caribbean's major move to revive the Chinese market, which has been in a trough for two years, "Spectrum of the Seas" was positioned at the beginning of its construction and tailored to the Chinese market. The Chinese team went to the Royal Caribbean Innovation Lab** to participate in the design details of the "Spectrum of the Seas" and participated in the initial design, and the ubiquitous oriental elements on the ship condensed the countless efforts and wisdom of the Chinese teamAmong the 33 dining options, there are many new Chinese boutique restaurants, from the first Sichuan cuisine at sea - Chuan Gu Hui, the combination of Chinese and Western tea - Kayu tea ceremony, to the invincible seaview hot pot - Haihan hot pot and to satisfy the Chinese taste buds - Wei Hao Noodle BarEven the original show on the ship, "Silk Road", is also created with new Chinese elements, interpreting the story of "Silk Road" in a new way.
Restarting China's cruise market, in Tianjin, Shenzhen and other home port cities, the route with Shanghai as the home port is undoubtedly the vane of the entire industry. In the announced 2024 routes with Shanghai as the home port, the number of trips to Japan and South Korea has reached 50+, with the shortest voyage days of 5 days and 4 nights, and the longest of 15 days and 14 nights.
Although they all focus on destinations in Japan and South Korea, they show the differentiation of their own deep cultivation in the routes launched by each tour company. Taking the "15-day Charming Japan and South Korea Tour" that has been put on sale by the Viking cruise ship "China Merchants Eden" as an example, the three routes are all 15-day in-depth exploration of the 9 ports of Japan and South Korea, and one stop covers Jeju Island in South Korea, Kagoshima, Kochi, Tokushima, Shimizu (Mt. Fuji), Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and other destinationsAmong the Japan-South Korea routes of the Royal Caribbean "Spectrum of the Seas", there are as many as 44 4-night and 5-night easy travel routes, accounting for 92%, of which 95% of the itinerary covers the weekend, that is, at least only 3 days of vacation, you can achieve a comfortable international cruise trip.
On December 15, MSC Cruises, the world's largest family-owned cruise company, announced that it has launched the first pre-departure reservation of official shore cruise products for China's home port routes, including the shore cruise products led by its "Asian flagship" MSC Glory on March 16, 2024, with Shanghai as its home port. For the 2024 cruise, MSC Cruises has upgraded its land experience with a selection and customisation of shore itineraries for a diverse range of customers, including families, families and young people. The launch of the pre-departure reservation protects the early bird price, the reservation order 72 hours before the departure of the voyage without damage, the reservation before the departure of the reservation and many other discounts, such as the first appointment and the later payment.
Chinese guests deserve a better cruise vacation experience, and the official pre-shore reservation product of the China Home Port route launched for Chinese guests realizes the connection between sea and land for cruise vacations, and can meet the diversified, one-stop and high-quality vacation needs of Chinese guests. ”Huang Ruiling, President of MSC Cruises China, said.
2024 is destined to be an important year for the reopening of China's cruise market, and with new opportunities comes more new demand.