In the Yangtze River Delta, another city cluster in China, cruises have become an increasingly popular option for tourists. With the development of Adora Magic City, the country's first domestically-built large cruise ship, industry insiders say the future looks bright for the sector. In this episode of New Vitality, Wu Bin explores the development of the cruise economy and what lies ahead.

WU BIN, Shanghai "This is a dock in Shanghai specially built for large cruise ships. And over there lies 'Adora Magic City', China's first domestically-built large cruise ship, waiting to embark on a new journey. Some call it a 'cruise baby' because it was 'born' – or became operational – just last year. But it represents a kind of new force, both in consumption and construction."

This year's Spring Festival witnessed a new travel trend, with many Chinese choosing to journey by cruise.

YANG GUOBING, Chairman, CSSC Cruise Technology Development and Adora Cruises "From the maiden voyage on New Year's Day to this afternoon, which is February 23rd, nearly 45,000 tourists were carried on board. It's extremely popular. Especially for the trip during Spring Festival, the ship carried a total of 4,600 passengers and 1,300 crew members."

Cruises may be increasingly popular among Chinese, but it's a relatively new thing in the country. It wasn't until 2006, when Italy's Costa Allegra sailed from Shanghai for the first time, that cruises became a topic of conversation among Chinese people. In part, the trend is one more sign of the country's rapid economic development, as the speed of the Chinese industry's development is unprecedented.

WANG HONG, Director, Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute "China's cruise industry develops very fast. It's jumped from the era of medium-sized cruise ships, usually 60-thousand to 70-thousand tons in weight, to the era of large cruise ships. From 2012 to 2017, China has quickly become the second largest source for cruise passengers."

But China isn't only satisfied with providing more consumers. The country has long desired its own large cruise ships. After years of scientific research, design and development, the dream finally came true in 2023. But success means more than China's strengths in ship-building. It also involves expanding the entire industrial chain, creating what the country calls "new productive forces".

WANG HONG, Director, Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute "In terms of the industrial chain, we can achieve the same as North America and Europe, which is the development of the whole industrial chain, including the comprehensive expansion of the manufacturing sector, the development of the operations sector, as well as cruise tourism, catering services and entertainment facilities. This also creates more opportunities to nurture talents and increase employment."

2024 is expected to be a crucial year for the Chinese cruise market to bounce back, following the pandemic. Many international companies are also back to get involved in the competition.

WU BIN, Shanghai "It's estimated that China's cruise economy will reach a total value of 500 billion yuan, about 70 billion US dollars, by 2035. The competition will be fierce, but what's certain is that as a new and rising market, it is vast and full of potential. Wu Bin, CGTN, Shanghai."

来源｜CGTN