Viking's 'very measured approach' to China

During Thursday's earnings call, CFO Leah Talactac indicated a 'very measured approach' to China, currently 'a very small part of our business.'

She recently joined a Chinese-dedicated Danube cruise and said these sailings generate high net promoter scores. 

Cracking China

'We've got the product right for that consumer but there are challenges with visas and airlift,' Talactac said. She expects those eventually will be worked out.

The four dedicated river vessls are down from the five in pre-pandemic 2019.

'Over time, if we could crack the China market, that would be great,' Viking Chairman/CEO Torstein Hagen added. A year ago, he talked about some newbuilds going to China but hasn't subsequently elaborated. 

Other Asian markets

There are other large markets in Asia 'and it wouldn't be surprising to do a bit more there,' but for now Viking is just 'getting a small foothold.'

Hagen did not specify Japan, but the company is active there and deploying its China joint venture ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun on a series of sailings in 2024 and 2025 designed for Japanese.

Certainly the Asia business will develop since there are markets that have money and, increasingly, demographics with the time to cruise, he said.

For now, though, Viking's focused mainly on its English-speaking customer base.