The China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA) recently hosted a visit from MSC Cruises at the association’s Beijing headquarters.

Zheng Weihang, executive vice president and secretary general of the CCYIA, met with Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises; Bud Darr, executive vice president of maritime policy and government affairs; Luca Biondolillo, chief communications officer; Helen Huang, president of greater China for MSC; and others.

The MSC Splendida will enter the Chinese market this May, and is poised to start a year-round program in 2019. The Splendida’s arrival builds off MSC Lirica, which has been in the Chinese market since 2016.

Both parties discussed the development trends of China’s cruise market, according to a statement, including diversifying the sales channels in China and market potential in south China.

Zheng said the southern China cruise market represented a huge potential area for passenger sourcing. However, he noted the market still faces challenges in terms of awareness.

The statement noted that MSC’s Vago highly appreciates the CCYIA’s active role in the development of the cruise industry in China, and is looking forward to developing the relationship between MSC and the CCYIA.