Page 17 - 2024 China Market Report

CHINA

 The MSC Bellissima will spend 2024 in Asia.

he MSC Bellissima is slated to drydock at the Huarun leapt, and we will actively support them with details of our
TDadong Dockyard (HRDD) in Shanghai at the end of product,” Huang said.
2023, which is the first time any of MSC’s fleet has gone into “The local market has also witnessed a change in distribution
drydock in China. channels. Direct online bookings via various social channels
Work will include general maintenance but also some tweaks have increased significantly so we have and will continue to
for the Chinese market, she said. Plans call for cruises from invest in this area. We have our very own WeChat Mini-Pro-
Keelung early next year, with the ship moving to homeport in gram, a dedicated website for the Chinese market and a range
Shanghai in March. of accounts on the most popular social media platforms in the
“We believe we will have a product advantage in China, and country such as Red, TikTok and Fliggy.”
the MSC Bellissima will provide Chinese guests with a Euro- Huang said the company will embrace a diversified distribu-
pean cruise experience that will be finely tuned with products tion sales model in China, which will include a combination of
that will make them feel at home,” Huang said. charters, blocks and flexible independent travelers.
Following her Shanghai program, the Bellissima returns to “We will strengthen such partnerships with a wider network
Taiwan in June and is expected back in mainland China for the of retail travel agencies in China and improve our B2B booking
balance of the summer. efficiency and visibility,” she said. “While we will also continue
Details regarding the deployment of the MSC Splendida to support our travel agency partners in online marketing, we
have yet to be announced. will accelerate the improvement of direct bookings, improve
direct-to-consumer communications and rebuild channels to
Four Years Off cope effectively with any new changes.”
“We’re in great shape to work with our retail and online Huang also noted the growth in demand from incentive groups
travel agencies, where the demand for cruise tickets has recently prior to the pandemic, and she expects that to continue in 2024. 

Cruise Industry News: 2024 China Market Report 63