China’s cruise line sector is predicted to contribute 51 billion yuan (US$8.2bn) to the Chinese economy by 2020, according to a report by major online travel agency Tongcheng Network Technology Co Ltd, based in Suzhou.
China’s cruise line sector is predicted
to contribute 51 billion yuan (US$8.2bn) to the Chinese economy by 2020,
according to a report by major online travel agency Tongcheng Network
Technology Co Ltd, based in Suzhou.
In the first half of this year, the
industry reported a five percent growth rate compared to the same period in
2014, with passenger figures topping 380,000.
During the same time frame, 144 cruise
ships left Chinese ports.
The outbreak last month of Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea, which is one of the major destinations
along with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore, was responsible for a
small dip in passengers numbers in June.
But travel agents say numbers will pick
up during the peak July and August holiday season.
Cruise companies continue to move ships
into the region to catch the China wave. Princess Cruises will deploy a new
3,600-passenger ship to China in 2017, while another Carnival Corp. brand, Costa Cruises,
will base four ships in China in 2016: the Fortuna, Serena, Atlantica and
Victoria.