In 2023, China's tourism market will fully recover, and taking a cruise ship to start sea travel has once again become an important choice for Chinese tourists. From the perspective of products, in the past year, the layout of China's local cruise brands ushered in a highlight moment, with many cruise ships such as "China Merchants Eden" and "Mediterranean" of Aida Cruises taking the lead in setting sail, bringing diversified itinerary products to tourists; International cruise brands have opened pre-sales early, and although they have officially announced their return to the Chinese market, due to the sailing schedule, the maiden voyage will basically have to wait until 2024. The full recovery of China's cruise market in the real sense still depends on 2024. What kind of competition will the Chinese cruise market show in the new year, and how to compete in the local cruise line, especially AIDA Cruises· Under the background of the official opening of commercial flights and the big step forward of domestic cruise ships, the accelerated restart of international cruise brands will bring new changes to the pattern of China's cruise market, everything is full of unknowns. Wenlv's "Role" column specially invited Ms. Huang Ruiling, President of MSC Cruises China, a well-known international postal company, to share her views on the current situation of China's cruise market and how to view the future product trend and competitive landscape changes in the market. In her opinion,China's cruise market will truly usher in the first year of large-scale reopening in 2024, and the changes in tourists' demand for cruise products, changes in cruise sales channels and new marketing trends are all worth paying attention to. MSC Cruises is also fully prepared and looks forward to meeting Chinese tourists at sea as soon as possible.
Chinese tourists' demand for cruise product experience is increasingAccording to MSC Cruises' deployment, its "Asian flagship" MSC Glory will start its maiden voyage at its Shanghai home port on March 16, 2024. The pre-sale activities for the relevant voyages have been launched early, and the bookings and sales figures through various channels such as the official **, official mini program, official website and Fliggy are very encouraging.
It is reported that up to now, some of the voyages and cabin types of the Glory in the spring have been sold out, and the number of single-day direct sales bookings through official channels has also set the best record in history. During last year's Double 11, the release of related ** products on MSC's official Fliggy store also attracted huge attention and panic buying, and product sales jumped to the top 1 in the Fliggy cruise category.
In preparation for the reopening of the market, we were firmly optimistic about the potential of the Chinese market, and the enthusiastic response from pre-sales and early birds** also shows that cruise tourism is a very suitable product for the trend of Chinese guests' travel consumption upgrade. Based on the feedback from tourists on cruise products that have resumed sailings around the world, we have observed that there are new changes in demand for both onboard entertainment and offline sightseeing. In particular, the changes in the Chinese market are even more significant. Huang Ruiling shared.
From the perspective of the global market, it is mainly manifested in the following aspects:
First, tourists are looking forward to more shore travel time, especially outbound routes, and arranging as much online tour time and rich sightseeing arrangements for tourists can improve tourist satisfaction. MSC Cruises' 2024 itineraries are carefully planned for passengers to make all-day or overnight stops at popular destinations.
Second, tourists want to have a deeper local cultural experience. In 2024, MSC Cruises will further enhance its presence in 2024, taking MSC Glory in the Chinese market as an example, taking passengers on a journey through the beauty of the destination's art, history and tradition, while experiencing the vitality of a modern city, creating a "one-stop" experience of combining land and sea.
The third is to seek a new and upgraded quality of luxury exploration journey. After the epidemic, tourists' choice of travel products is not only focused on the best, but more cost-effective, but the products that can bring high-quality experience are also welcomed by tourists. In response to this, MSC Cruises has launched the industry's first-of-its-kind "Ship within a Boat" MSC Yacht Club, which offers an unrivalled holiday experience at sea, which has been a huge hit since its first launch in 2008.
Finally, there is the growing demand for the ultimate travel experience. Consumers are increasingly aware that cruises that can reach multiple must-visit destinations on a single board ship have a higher core value than alternative land vacations, from onboard activities to shore excursions.
Focusing on the Chinese market, the changes in the needs of Chinese tourists are more microscopic and specific. It is mainly reflected in the more diversified audiences and needs, and the increase in the proportion of young tourists; More attention is paid to the hardware configuration of the ship, and the experience of the rationing conditions such as small postage, room type, catering and entertainment is more demanding, and the cruise ships serving the Chinese market need to have stronger competitiveness.
Based on this observation, MSC Honor is arranged in the Chinese market to better meet the needs of Chinese tourists. From the perspective of its own conditions, the Honor is one of the newest and largest and most innovative cruise ships in MSC's MSC cruise fleet, and it is also the newest and largest international brand flagship cruise ship in Asia. The ship has the world-famous Swarovski crystal staircase, the exclusive LEGO Sea Park, a 270-degree sea-view gym equipped with a full set of Technogym equipment, and a full-size F1 simulated double race car, all of which are worth experiencing, checking in and taking photos.
From the perspective of the cabin types of the first batch of guests, high-end cabins such as deluxe, executive balcony suites and yacht club suites account for a very high proportion, and the proportion of family bookings for multiple people is also very high, which confirms the recognition of MSC Cruises brand and MSC Yacht Club by Chinese families and high-end customers, as well as the eager expectation of MSC Glory. Huang Ruiling said.
She also mentioned that it is important to note that the number of tourists who go out of China to experience round-the-world cruises is also increasing, and the 2024 round-the-world routes reserved for the Chinese market have long been sold out, and Chinese tourists have become the highest proportion of round-the-world routes departing from overseas for the first time. With the launch of the new and upgraded round-the-world routes in 2025 and 2026, enquiries and bookings continue to be hot. For example, MSC Cruises' Nordic route, its 2023 National Day holiday redemption product launched on the Fliggy platform, has a single-day sales performance of far more than 1 million yuan.
Channel diversification requires the Postal Service to adopt a more flexible sales strategyThe changes in China's cruise market are not only reflected in the tourists, but also in the domestic tourism market during the special periodThe acceleration of digitalization and the shift of online marketing.
This has also profoundly affected MSC Cruises' marketing strategy and deployment in the Chinese market.
Huang Ruiling said that MSC Cruises has been actively exploring and actively practicing a diversified business and marketing model that is more suitable for the Chinese market, and the current offline business alone can no longer meet the needs of the brand and market.
During the epidemic period, MSC Mediterranean Post took the lead in opening the live broadcast business, popularizing and educating consumers on routes and products, and conducted several live broadcasts of destinations on overseas routes, establishing a deeper connection with tourism partners and consumers through online marketing. ”
According to Huang Ruiling, MSC's official WeChat account is live broadcast every week, and nearly 30 events have been completed in the past six months, with more than 100,000 + people.
From the perspective of the overall marketing layout of MSC Cruises, the future will still be dominated by B2B, but coexist with B2C to better achieve a win-win situation for 2B2C.
She further explained that pre-pandemic outbound leisure travel was dominated by group tours and packaged vacations, and B2B travel partners played a vital role in business growth, and this trend will continue after the market recovers. With the launch and launch of the 2024 season, MSC is also continuing to consolidate its position as the main player in B2B cruise distribution, further expanding innovation and cooperation with 2B travel agencies**.
For example, with the integrated solution of offline + online, we support travel agency partners to carry out online marketing, and provide convenience for them through the B-side ***MSC Cruises Information and the B2B reservation system MSC Book.
However, she also said that in recent years, the rapid growth of the 2C end cannot be ignored, which has a significant effect on the proportion of direct sales of the postal department. In the past business, the direct sales cost of foreign-funded cruise ships in the Chinese market was too high, so the upstream and downstream partners of the industrial chain, including travel agencies, played a major role.
Nowadays, with the diversification and online booking channels of tourists, it has brought new opportunities for cruise companies to do direct sales. In this regard, MSC Cruises China team is also accumulating experience, establishing its own digital channels and e-commerce platforms such as official mini programs on the brand's official website and official website, establishing a professional enterprise WeChat customer service team to meet the needs of tourists' inquiries and reservations, and selling very flexible ferry ticket vouchers and children's vouchers on the Fliggy platform.
future usWe will continue to accelerate the improvement of direct sales capabilities, continue to embark on the road of digital transformation, increase social promotion and interaction through short**, live broadcast and other channels, and enhance communication with consumers through its own digital channels and e-commerce platforms, so as to improve response efficiency, promote business transformation and empower the development of the tourism industry. Huang Ruiling said.
The market space is huge, and Chinese and foreign cruise ships must rely on products and servicesAs early as 2018, in order to promote the development of China's cruise industry, the Ministry of Transport, the National Development and Reform Commission and other ten departments jointly issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of China's Cruise Economy", which mentioned that by 2035, China's cruise market will become one of the most dynamic markets in the world, and the annual cruise passenger traffic will reach 14 million.
In the face of such a market space, MSC Cruises will naturally increase its layout.
Huang Ruiling revealed that in 2024, MSC Cruises will cooperate with the three home ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taiwan, becoming the only international cruise brand to achieve the deployment of two ships and three home ports in the Chinese market in the first year of resumption of sailing after the epidemic. In addition to MSC Glory, which is the first to open a Chinese cruise homeport route, MSC Glory, a popular "star cruise" among Chinese guests, will also return to its Shenzhen home port in the fourth quarter of 2024, and further deployment actions are expected in the 2025 season.
It is worth noting that in January 2024, China's domestic large cruise ship Aida Modu has started its first commercial voyage, and official information shows that China's second domestic large cruise ship has begun construction and is scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026. This means that China's development in the cruise industry is not limited to the consumer market, but has become one of the powerful supply sides.
Regarding the entry of China's domestic cruise companies, Huang Ruiling said franklyMore players into the market is the inevitable trend of market development to a certain extent, there is no essential difference between Chinese and foreign cruise companies from the perspective of participants, whether a postal company can stand out, depends on whether it can accurately and continuously capture the hearts of consumers.
Specifically, it is important for the company to be able to properly plan the ratio of domestic and international innovative products to be launched to provide a fusion of Chinese and Western holiday experiences that combine international style and local characteristics to meet the needs of tourists. And for a postal company to be successful, it must identify its target audience and adopt effective strategies, such as targeted improvement of the quality of routes, products and services, and targeted marketing.
Although MSC Cruises is an international brand, it is constantly strengthening and highlighting the "Chinese elements", which is in line with China's local culture.
For example, at the end of 2023, MSC Glory will enter the China Resources Dadong Shipyard in Shanghai for daily maintenance and preparation for the official resumption of sailing. This is the first time that MSC Cruises' vessels have entered a dry dock in China for maintenance works, ensuring that they are upgraded to exclusive facilities tailored to Chinese tourists.
Ship maintenance is an important part of the cruise industry chain, MSC Glory not only created a record for the total tonnage of cruise dry dock projects undertaken by Chinese shipyards, but also provided valuable experience for Chinese shipyards to undertake dry dock maintenance of ultra-large luxury cruise ships, and opened up a "new route" for MSC Cruises to fully promote the development of China's cruise construction industry.
She also shared a very important set of data, in recent years, China has gradually become the global procurement center of MSC Cruises. Indoor and outdoor furniture for new builds in the MSC fleet, as well as hotel consumables, have been partially sourced directly from China. After the resumption of China's home port service, more than 80% of the food and other supplies on board will also be procured locally. In order to better serve Chinese tourists, MSC Glory has recruited more Chinese crew members and sent them to cruise ships for training in batches, and the number of crew members who can master Chinese on MSC Glory will reach 400, accounting for 25% of the total crew.
At the end of the interview, Huang Ruiling said that if cruise companies are still in a state of "ready to go" in 2023, 2024 is the first year of the large-scale official reopening of China's cruise market, and MSC Cruises is ready to actively embrace the reopened market. From the perspective of market development trends, the supply of high-quality products is still the core of the same, cruise companies need to keep up with the changes in the times and tourist demand, and constantly update and optimize product supply, service content and channel construction to meet the needs of development.
We look forward to continuing to cooperate with the tourism industry and upstream and downstream partners in the cruise industry chain in 2024, forming a synergy with one heart and one direction, making the market bigger and stronger, and writing a glorious new chapter of higher quality and more sustainable development of China's cruise and tourism industry." ”
Photo courtesy of the interviewee.