The top executives from the major cruise companies operating in China and the Asia-Pacific will come together with key government officials in Tianjin, China, next week as part of the ninth China Cruise Shipping International Expo, hosted by the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association and supported exclusively by Cruise Industry News (booth B77).

The show runs in Tianjin (the main port for Beijing) October 15-17.

Top speakers include Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, as well as Adam Goldstein, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Joining Donald from Carnival will be Alan Buckelew, chief operating officer, who is relocating to Shanghai to focus more on Asia.

From Royal Caribbean, Zinan Liu will also be a featured speaker as managing director of China and Asia-Pacific for the cruise company.

Other notable speakers include government officials from the National Tourism Administration, the Tianjin government, and the China Communications and Transportation Association, as well as the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and representatives from key cruise regions, including Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, Qinhuangdao, Qingdao, and Taizhou.

More cruise line executives speaking include: Budhy Bok, senior vice president of China and Asia, Costa; Anthony Kaufman, senior vice president of Asia, Princess Cruises; Yang Lei, general manager, MSC Shanghai; Zhang Hao, CEO, HNA Cruises; and Liu Jianjun, general manager of recent market entrant Bohai Ferry.

Shipyards on a refurbishment panel include China State Shipbuilding, Meyer Werft and Fincantieri.

Panel sessions during the event are the policy forum,the industry leader panel (China’s state of the industry), cruise ports, regional development, refurbishment and construction and working onboard. Suppliers will have procurement sessions from all three major companies in the region – Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Genting. There will also be a number of closed-door meetings, including a key sit-down between government officials in China and the management from various cruise lines.