Scheduled to lecture at the end of October in Shanghai, Schlesinger plans to present a three-day course that includes cruise product segmentation, ship acquisition, deployment and itineraries, marketing and branding, sales management and organization, and the implementation of strategic business and marketing and sales action plans.
The Shanghai Maritime University Executive MBA program was developed in response to the dramatic growth of China's cruise market. The program is designed to educate Chinese officials and entrepreneurs interested in participating in the creation of new cruise companies. Previous lectures have focused on financial and operations management, and cruise terminal development.
'There is a significant opportunity for the Chinese marketplace to organically develop its own cruise companies in light of the rapidly growing competition from existing brands,' Schlesinger said. He added that the sizable source market, which seeks mainly three- to five-day cruises, is primed for the creation of Chinese-operated lines.
'It is a bit reminiscent of the US cruise industry in the very early '80s, and I am looking forward to assisting the program participants learn how to build their own cruise industry,' Schlesinger said.
