Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, said in a speech at China Cruise Shipping in Sanya that great forward planning will lead to a bright future when it comes to China’s cruise industry.
“We are proud to be your partners in building a robust cruise industry in China,” Donald said. “We have seen rapid growth in Chinese cruise guests and ships homeporting in Chinese ports, as well as the development of infrastructure needed to support those ships.”
Donald said China had a distinct advantage, and could learn from other regions of the world where the cruise business has existed for 50 years.
“China is one of the world’s oldest societies, yet you have the advantage of being young in the cruise industry, and of course, you also have the advantage of scale.
“We’re excited about China’s vision to build a world class cruise industry,” Donald added.
He said Carnival Corporation continues to remain “very confident” about the potential of the Chinese cruise market.
Among the challenges, Donald noted a lack of licensed travel agencies selling cruise packages. He said only about 4,000 travel agencies are currently selling cruises in China, and more efforts are needed to expand distribution.
Carnival Corporation has a major presence in China, with year-round ships from Costa Crociere and seasonal capacity from Princess Cruises. Costa will add new ships, built for the Chinese market, in 2019 and 2020.
The company is also involved in a joint venture to build ships with China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
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