Cruise & Cruise Line

China's Cruise Market Attracts New Ships

Janeen Christoff
by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 4:00 PM ET, Tue August 30, 2016

Cruise companies are flocking to China as the market picks up and takes off.

"Deploying an existing ship to homeport in China, or working with Chinese tour agencies to charter entire boats, is no longer enough for many international cruise companies. Seeking to endear their brands to a market that has taken to cruising like fish to water, they are building new ships specifically designed with mainland Chinese passengers in mind," writes Raini Hamdi for Forbes.

Indeed, the Asian cruise market is one of the brightest spots in an industry that continues to see large-scale growth.

"By 2020, the size of the China cruise market is expected to be four to five times it is today and by 2030, it's anywhere from eight million to 17.5 million, going by figures from the Chinese Ministry of Transport and China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association," Hamdi reports.

[READMORE] READ MORE: Where to Cruise in the Fall [/READMORE]

Several cruise lines are now in the process of building ships specifically for the Chinese market.

Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line specifically are in the process of building ships dedicated to the Chinese market and Royal Caribbean has announced that Chinese actress Fan Bingbing will be the godmother of its Ovation of the Seas, which will serve the China market.

To find out more details about these new China-specific ships, go here.


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