A conservative estimate shows the Chinese market generating upwards of 5 million cruise passengers in 2020, according to Cruise Industry News.
That is well up from a 4 million by 2020 projection from 2015, and will set the tone for the 11th annual China Cruise Shipping conference and trade show, which will be attended by the who’s who of the global cruise industry as well as numerous Chinese companies looking to enter the business. The show is scheduled in Tianjin, which is the port city to Beijing, Sept. 23-25.
By 2021, China will account for at least 16 percent of the global cruise market, according to the 2016-2017 China Market Briefing.
The show is hosted by the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association, which falls under China’s Ministry of Transport, and has put together another robust speaker program. Among the goals is continued dialogue between the cruise lines and government officials in China.
Building on last year’s event in Shanghai, Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, and Adam Goldstein, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, are back again and joined by their competitors, including MSC Cruises President and CEO Gianni Onorato, and Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. From Genting, Ang Moo Lim, president of Star Cruises, and Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises, are also on the speakers’ list.
More big names include Colin Au, advisor and founding president of Genting Hong Kong, and Min Fan, president and CEO of SkySea Cruise Line. A detailed speaker program is available here.
News is expected from Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
In addition to the conference program, the event’s growing trade show will run from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 in Tianjin, not only featuring the cruise lines themselves, but suppliers, ports and shipyards.
