Cruise market forecast to welcome 14m passengers by 2035

Benefiting from the speedy recovery of China's cruise industry, both domestic and international cruise operators are actively positioning themselves for home port operations and offering diversified and creative services in the world's second-largest economy, according to senior executives of cruise companies.

"It is expected that China's home ports handled more than 2 million passengers trips throughout 2024. The active recovery and rapid growth are expected to confirm China as Asia's largest cruise market," said Qiu Ling, chairman and deputy director of the Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute.

Speedy recovery

"The year of 2024 was the first year for China to resume cruises and home port operations after the pandemic. Cruises have quickly become a highly sought-after choice of Chinese consumers who love international travel," said Qiu.

According to Qiu, the Chinese cruise industry celebrated the inaugural voyage of the country's first domestically-made large cruise ship Adora Magic City on the first day of 2024, and was cheered up by the return of big-name international cruise brands' flagship cruises. Major Chinese home ports including the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Port reported significant growth in both cruise ships and passengers.

Benjamin Bouldin, president of Royal Caribbean International China, said 2024 was an exceptional year for Royal Caribbean.

"Since April, the Spectrum of the Seas has successfully operated 51 sailings, welcoming over 250,000 guests with a high load factor. This performance reflects not only the strong recovery of China's cruise industry, but also the growing demand among Chinese consumers for high-quality travel experiences," said Bouldin.

Notably, in peak travel seasons such as during the May Day holiday, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, all sailings were fully booked a month in advance, according to Bouldin.

"These results exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the resilience and enthusiasm of the Chinese market. Our success in 2024 lays a solid foundation for continued growth and reinforces our commitment to providing unforgettable cruise experiences for our guests in China," he said.

Last year also saw Switzerland-headquartered MSC Cruises completely recommence operations in the Chinese market.

"As the first international cruise line to depart from home ports in the Chinese mainland after the pandemic, we deployed MSC Bellissima, the flagship of the Asian market with a gross tonnage of 172,000, to Shanghai and Shenzhen home ports, allowing guests in East and South China regions to have the opportunity to board an international cruise ship on the home front," said Huang Ruiling, president of MSC Cruises China.

"She successfully completed 25 near full capacity voyages, taking more than 100,000 guests to enjoy high-quality European-style luxury cruise vacations during peak travel seasons in winter and summer," Huang said.

According to Huang, by implementing a strategy of market segmentation and leveraging the peak seasons in different areas, MSC Cruises received positive feedback from consumers.

While international cruise operators ended 2024 with exceptional performance, the advent of Adora Magic City, the nation's first domestically built cruise ship, also closed its first-year with a strong performance in the post-pandemic era.

"Since its maiden commercial voyage on the first day of 2024, Adora Magic City has successfully completed 87 trips as of Jan 15 and served over 300,000 guests from both home and abroad," said Chen Ranfeng, chief executive officer of Adora Cruises, operator of Adora Magic City.

"The majority of our guests are Chinese, and about 5 percent of them are international guests in each sailing. Feedback from our guests shows that the satisfaction rate stands above 95 percent," Chen said.