Metamorphosis - Cruise Ship Portal

Insight > Ports & destinations
Lucky numbers
■ Foreign cruise visitors
to China target 2010: 600,000
■ Foreign cruise visitors
to China 2009: 200,000
■ Chinese cruise
passengers in 2009: 365,000
■ Chinese cruise
passengers in 2008: 110,000
Source: Chinese Transport Ministry
RCI was surprised to find that shorter
cruises aimed at the domestic Chinese
market drew great international interest
from the US, Europe and Australia. Peter
Cox, director of itinerary planning and
development at Yachts of Seabourn,
understands why this was the case. “As a
country and cruise destination, China
should interest all of us because of the
major role it plays in the world,” he explains.
“People will become increasingly intrigued
by this huge country with such a long
history. The interest is in China as a modern
state contrasted with its ancient culture.”
Opened up
The major challenge for operators trying to
offer European and US guests cruises in
China is its relatively limited infrastructure.
The government has pledged to develop the
country’s ports but much work remains to
be done. Cox believes that the cities most
accustomed to receiving foreign visitors
have made good progress.
“It’s different for the less visited places
such as Xiamen, Qingdao, Dalian,” he says.
“They need to get on the ball. In general
they’re modernising very fast but it will be
much more challenging to find good guides,
for example. They need to not only have a
good knowledge of their history but also be
able to articulate it to foreign visitors.”
Unlocking the huge interior can make
planning Chinese itineraries difficult,
especially compared to the accessible
islands of South East Asia and Indonesia.
The easing of cabotage restrictions should
make costal cruises a viable option but, for
Cox, the trick will be to create an extensive
package of excursions.
“We bundle Beijing, the Forbidden City
and the Great Wall with the rest of the
coastal cruise to expose our guests to a mix
30
of cultures,” he says. “The aim is to
showcase things such as Buddhist temples
and traditional cuisine that are very Chinese
but are hidden behind a modern façade. It’s
not an easy destination but ours are
generally well-travelled, worldly guests who
want to gain a deeper understanding. Our
role is to make the experience interesting
and varied.”
While Asia is attracting a lot of attention,
operators are also being careful to not lose
sight of their core markets. Nevertheless,
the emphasis on experience is driving
itinerary development in this regard.
“We cater to all sorts of people who like
to explore culturally and historically
interesting destinations,” says Douwes.
“The younger generation wants to explore
far-flung places all over the globe.”
“
Ease the pressure
With demographic and market trends
pushing the industry to look further afield,
there is an opportunity to take the pressure
off traditional destinations which are
rapidly becoming saturated.
Douwes acknowledges that congestion
is a growing problem in some of the more
popular Mediterranean ports such as
Barcelona and Civitavecchia.
“We tend to adjust our schedule for
congestion as these places have so much
to offer cruises,” he says. “It’s not like
sailing to a small Caribbean island: you’re
sailing to a major destination and they are
much better equipped to absorb a large
number of visitors.”
Block recognises that the postcard
locations of Europe are just too big to
pass up, so careful planning is key to
developing a successful itinerary. “Italy’s
not a country where things move real
quick,” she says, “but we’re really trying to
work closely with it for the benefit of the
industry. It’s not just us building big ships,
everybody’s building them, and everybody
wants to be in the Mediterranean.
“We’re looking for alternative locations for
ports and ways we can improve the
infrastructure in the existing ones so they
World Cruise Industry Review | www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
can handle larger ships on a regular basis.
In the meantime, planning well to get the
prime berths is essential.”
Europe has long been Seabourn’s core
territory and the challenge for Cox is
keeping the company’s itineraries fresh.
“There are about 100 ports in the
Mediterranean that we have been
scheduling over the last couple of years,”
Cox explains. “With our smaller number of
guests it’s possible to disembark with
limited infrastructure. Our ships can anchor
quite easily and don’t need a pier to dock
alongside in order to be able to deliver a
good experience.”
As horizons broaden, it’s clear that
diversity and flexibility will be the most
important trend in itinerary development over
the coming years. By continually tweaking
People will become increasingly intrigued by this
huge country with such a long history. The interest
is in China as a modern state contrasted with its
ancient culture. Peter Cox
schedules it should be possible for the
industry to keep repeat guests interested
while at the same time seeking fertile sources
of new customers. Huge operators such as
RCI might have a different emphasis from a
niche line such as Seabourn, but neither can
afford to let the opportunity pass them by. �
Profiles
Diana Block joined RCI in 1998 as
director of air/sea and has held the
positions of associate vice-president in
revenue management, hotel finance, and
deployment and itinerary planning.
Peter Cox began his cruise career in
1974 as a tour manager aboard Norwegian
American Line’s Sagafjord and has worked
for Pearl Cruises and Society Expeditions.
He joined Seabourn in 1993, and has
been planning its cruise itineraries and land
programmes since then.
Simon Douwes is the director of
deployment and itinerary planning
for Holland America Line. Appointed
to this position in 2002, he has the
responsibility of researching, developing
and implementing new and existing
itineraries and deployment for all ships in
the Holland America Line fleet.