Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2015)

CRUISING IN CHINA

Cruise Industry Seeks Fortune Cruise Industry Seeks Fortune in China

Credit: Meyer Werft

Quantum of the Seas under construction at Meyer Werft shipyard.

Builders, Operators Teaming to

Fill Voids In Rapidly Growing Chinese Market

By Patricia Keefe

For its part, the Chinese government shipyards and authorities, such as the as building the ? rst domestically sourced fter an uneven couple is betting on a triple payout: it hopes to ones struck separately over the last three cruise ships in China, to building up and of years punctuated serve a growing middle class (estimated months by the world’s largest cruise liner out the country’s port and terminal infra- by struggling econom- at a potential 300 million market) and its company, Carnival Corp., with the larg- structure, and to creating domestic cruise ic factors worldwide,

A desire for cruising vacations, to ? oat its est cruise ship builder, Fincantieri S.p.A.; line operations. maturing markets and some own liners and domestic operators and, with China’s largest shipyard, China highly publicized accidents and to expand opportunities for its ? nancial- State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC); and

Financial Fireworks ly struggling shipyard industry. with state agency China Merchant Group, illnesses, the cruise industry is

The prize here is stack-blowing market

To do this will require, most important- which is focused on transportation, infra- hoping to ? nd a little “double growth and seemingly unlimited oppor- ly, ships, the newer the better, and lots of structure, ? nancial services and real estate tunity. For starters, the United Nations happiness” from the rapidly them. The market is currently served by development. Also in the mix, a recently World Tourism Organization, claims growing Chinese market – en- 52 cruise liners of varying capacities and announced partnership between Royal that Chinese tourists became the world’s hanced pro? ts and renewed older vintages, with the potential to car- Caribbean, the second largest cruise line biggest travel spenders in 2012, pay- market growth for both opera- ry 2.17 million passengers across 1,000 operator, and C-Trip, China’s dominant ing out a cool $102 billion, and ranked tors and builders.

cruises, according to the Cruise Lines In- travel agency with 10% of the market. them number one globally in spending ternational Association (CLIA). Even Japan is getting in on the action, in 2013. The Chinese Ministry of Trans-

To signi? cantly boost that capacity in as with orders for two newbuilds from the port (MOT) is committed to developing timely a manner as possible – cruise ships AIDA Cruise line arm of Carnival. the Chinese cruise market, and has been typically take two to three years to de- The partnerships in China are pre- projecting that it will become the second liver – will require partnerships between liminary agreements aimed at accelerat- largest after the U.S. in a mere couple of the more experienced European cruise ing the development and growth of the years, growing at a faster rate than North shipbuilders and operators and Chinese cruise industry there, via projects such America and Europe. MOT also predicts 24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • FEBRUARY 2015

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