The Chinese cruise liner tourism market size is expected to hit CNY 51 billion by 2020.
The Chinese cruise liner tourism market grew fast in recent years and data from the China Communication and Transportation Association (CCTA) shows that ports across the country saw cruise liner acceptance volume reach 115 ship/times in 2006. The figure hit 285 ship-times in 2012, representing an accumulative growth of 148 percent or a compound average annual rise of 16 percent. That stood at 236 ship/times in the first half of this year, surging up by 117 percent year on year. And the cross-border passenger volume touched 660,000 person-times in 2012, compared to 160,000 person/times in 2006.
Qian Yongchang, chairman of the China Communication and Transportation Association (CCTA), said at a press conference days ago that travel by cruise liners was a new kind of tourism mode and as more consumers in the market got familiar with the mode, it would enjoy an explosive growth. And actually, huge potential in the market had caused foreign cruise liner operators to fuel expansion there in succession. Size of the Chinese cruise liner tourism market was expected to hit CNY 51 billion by 2020 and cruise liner tourism would become a strong driver to the domestic economy. Actually, China had become the fastest-growing cruise liner tourism market among emerging countries around the globe.
Li Man, a Chinese girl serving in a foreign firm, said in an interview recently that both her and her boyfriend served in a foreign firm and in July this year, they signed up for a five-day cruise liner travel from Tianjin, a port city in north China to Busan, the second-biggest city in South Korea. The cruise liner provided consumers with services covering catering, lodging and leisure-seeking. And there were not only bars and gym rooms but also tax-free shops and theaters. The expenditures was even less than CNY 10,000 in total.
A top executive with a Beijing-based travel agency pointed out that a major feature of cruise liner tourism was comfort and generally speaking, almost all basic demands of a consumer could be well satisfied in a cruise liner. The travel mode was quite suitable for families as a lot of time would be saved owning to fixed lodging sites.
Qian reiterated that the Chinese cruise liner tourism market was mainly dominated by foreign cruise liner operators currently. The nation was poor in cruise liner operation. In addition, it had not had the ability to build cruise liners so far.