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Chinese source market is vast yet challenging

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China's potential as a source market came in focus at Seatrade Asia Pacific Cruise Congress
China holds vast potential to be the world's largest cruise market but for lines to tap this huge yet fragmented market is no easy feat, according to panelists at the opening session of the Seatrade Asia Pacific Cruise Congress in Shanghai Baoshan.

Dr Zinan Liu, president, China & North APAC, Royal Caribbean International, said that reaching the Chinese consumer is a challenge due to the difficulty of choosing the appropriate channel and way of marketing, as well as the advertising costs in such a big country.

‘You need to tell a good story, perhaps aided by a celebrity,’ Liu said, adding that repeated messages of good service or promises of an excellent experience are not unique to each cruise line, neither are they ‘catchy’ for customers.

Heavy investments are required by the lines and travel agents to achieve marketing results and unlock the source market potential, but costs then become a challenge.

With China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) landing China’s first deal to build 133,500gt cruise ships, leading Chinese banks have backed the job with substantial funding.

Fan Min, president and ceo of SkySea Cruises, suggested a tiny portion of the massive RMB300bn fund created to support the mega cruise shipbuilding project could be sliced out for generic marketing purposes.

Even if only 1% of the fund is earmarked for marketing, it would go a long way, Fan suggested.

‘This could be a good idea especially when China’s cruise market is on the rise. The money could be well spent on creating awareness and educating the public on Shanghai’s plans to grow the cruise market,’ he told delegates.

Fan broached another idea of a one-for-one scheme such that if the government contributes to a marketing fund, each cruise line will match the amount and that could significantly boost cruising awareness across the country.

David Herrera, president, China, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings China, commented that in order to ensure the long-term success of China’s cruise industry, which will benefit all stakeholders, there have to be combined efforts from both the private and public sectors.

Support from the government in whatever appropriate ways is essential as ‘we are talking about a vast market that can be developed,’ according to Michael Goh, svp sales, Star Cruises. ‘The middle income group is an important source market,’ Goh pointed out.

Regardless of the marketing or distribution methods, Herrera said the message has got to be that cruising is a great vacation. ‘The challenge we face is a lack of awareness about cruising in general,’ added Tony Kaufman, evp international operations, Princess Cruises.

For MSC Cruises, China is undoubtedly an important market, according to its Greater China president Helen Huang. With Cruise Lines International Association forecasting the number of Chinese cruisers to balloon to 4.5m by 2020, from nearly 1m in 2015, Huang said ‘Everything in China is possible but nothing is easy.’

Numbers aside, she said the Chinese market is at a stage where imore efforts need to go into enhancing the customer experience and satisfaction.

Buhdy Bok, president, Costa Group Asia, said despite the staggering increases of recent years, China remains an area that has vastly more growth potential. ‘The things that we have been doing since we entered the market 10 years ago are backed by that belief, and it is justifiable to say that we have seen growth, and we expect the growth to continue.’