Outlook of China's cruise market 'extremely bright'

Breaking the convention that it normally takes a new cruise ship one year and a half to make profit, China's first domestically built cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, has become profitable in its second month of commercial operations, and its operator Adora Cruises Ltd is fully confident of the Chinese cruise market's prospects.

"Since its maiden commercial voyage on the first day of 2024, Adora Magic City has successfully completed 58 trips year-to-date and served nearly 250,000 guests from home and abroad," said Yang Guobing, chairman of Adora Cruises during an interview last week. "The operation is smooth on the whole, and its satisfaction rate surpasses 95 percent, highly beyond our initial expectations. In the cruising industry, it takes a new ship 18 months to become profitable, but we have started making profit since our second month."

Yang attributed the achievements to the strategy of exploring a Chinese paradigm for the global cruise industry. The strategy includes offering unique cultural experience, building a complete industry chain by its parent company China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), and enhancing comprehensive operation abilities.

"CSSC's participation, covering design, construction and operation, makes it possible to ensure all the procedures align with international standards. In the meantime, Adora Cruises' smooth operation allows us to benchmark against international peers," Yang said.

Being a Chinese cruise ship, Adora Magic City looks to offer products and services based on research and a thorough understanding of the China market.

"Adora Magic City is going to bring passengers from home and abroad new cultural tourism experiences in the autumn and winter seasons this year, including the introduction of Chinese traditional Yu Opera performances, China's leading local opera with the largest number of performers and troupes," said Yang.

The vessel is scheduled to make Shanghai its home port in 2025 and launch more than 80 sailings lasting from four to seven nights.

The cruise ship will also take guests to overseas destinations, such as Japan and South Korea, in the coming year, according to its itineraries.

Liu Hui, CEO of Adora Cruises, said the company is committed to integrating the essence of Chinese culture with the brand experience, providing an innovative cultural tourism experience for passengers, offering cruise products tailored for Chinese people, and exploring a Chinese paradigm for the global cruise industry.

Along with the recovery of the global cruise industry, the Chinese cruise market is rapidly returning to pre-COVID-19 levels, thanks to the country's overall planning and constant investment into infrastructure construction. China's stable macroeconomic development and growing middle-income population will back Chinese cruise market's rapid development, reported People's Daily citing a report from Cruise Lines International Association.

As of the end of July, Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Port had handled 736,500 passenger trips, and the port is projected to receive about 1.5 million inbound and outbound passengers throughout the year, accounting for 70 percent of the nation's total corresponding figure, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

"Taking a look at the cruise sector of the United States, in China, at least 100 more cruise ships with the same size of Adora Magic City could be operated in the Chinese market, and the outlook of China's cruise market is extremely bright," Yang said.