China is projected to become the world’s
most important cruise market with 10 million cruise passengers in 2030 in the
“2016 China Cruise Industry Development Report”, an industry study jointly
released by Shanghai International Cruise Economy Research Center, Shanghai
University of Engineering Science and Social Science Academic Press on October
12.
According to data from China Cruise &
Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA), a total of 539 cruises called at in China
in 2015 and they carried 2.48 million passengers in and out of the country in
the year. The number of cruises berthing in China for the first six months of
2016 totaled 415, equivalent to 76.99% of last year’s total berthing, and the
number of passengers carried in and out of the country on the cruises during
the six months was 1.84 million, equivalent to 74.07% of the 2015 total.
The CCYIA data also showed that Shanghai
dominates China’s cruise market as the eastern harbor is carrying 69.8% of the
nationwide cruise passenger volume and berthing 55.42% of all cruise ships.
Tianjin, China’s second largest port, handles 11.02% of the country’s cruise
passenger traffic, followed by Guangzhou, which handles 8.91% of China’s cruise
passengers.
Despite rapid development in China’s cruise
market, the report cites industry analysts’ concerns that the trend towards
lower cruise prices will jeopardize the sector’s healthy development.