The Japanese market was set to be the next big thing in the 1990s as a wealthy country was poised to start a serious outbound travel trend.

Japan’s travel industry labeled 1989 as “the initial year of the cruise.” That was the year when various Japanese companies, including some outside of the shipping and travel industry, began to expand their initiatives in the cruise industry.

These activities included the chartering of ships for promotion to the Japanese market, the construction of cruise ships in Japanese yards, investments in cruise lines that were targeting various market segments both in Japan and internationally, and the promotion of various American cruise products by several different tour operators.

Now, nearly 30 years later, with three local one-ship cruise lines and minimal additional capacity from Costa and Princess, the domestic source market in Japan is estimated to be around 250,000 annual cruise passengers, up from 100,000 in 1994.

There are three local, Japanese cruise lines.

Asuka, Mitsui and Venus all offer their Japanese passenger a premium, up-market product experience.

Carnival Corporation is the only other significant player in the domestic market, with seasonal homeporting operations from Costa and Princess.

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For insight and in-depth analysis of the Asia-Pacific and Japanese cruise market, download the 2018 China Market Report.

About the 2018 China Market Report

The 2018 China Market Report by Cruise Industry News is the only resource covering the future trajectory of the Chinese and Asia-Pacific cruise industry, presenting the past, present and future in a concise 95-plus page PDF download.

It is the only forward looking and independently-researched data available on the Chinese cruise market.

Cruise Industry News profiles all the major cruise lines operating in Asia, from Carnival Corporation to Royal Caribbean and local operators.

In addition, there are discussions with leading Chinese travel agents about the charter model and pricing trends, port news and updates from across the region, and a look at the fleet of ships in Asia through 2027.

There is also exclusive analysis and statistics of the Asia-Pacific market going back to 1998 and supply projections through 2027, in addition to a break-down of Asia-Pacific and China by operator and market capacity. Click here to learn more.