CruiseWorld China to be held March 30 in Shanghai

Travel Weekly China's second annual CruiseWorld China will be held at Le Royal Meridien Shanghai on March 30, 2016.

The one-day event will bring hundreds of travel agents and cruise industry leaders together for networking, learning and discussion about the rapidly growing cruise market in China.

“Our very first CruiseWorld China in Shanghai was such a great success in 2015 that we are expecting a sold out event this March,” said Bob Sullivan, president, Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group. “We’re confident this event, with a great roster of top cruise line and industry executives, will be as well received by the travel agent and cruise market as the first.”

Among topics to be discussed are ships launching in 2016 and new market opportunities, charter cruise sales in China, consumer trends in the cruise industry, how technology is affecting demand, potential growth markets, and traveler loyalty. The full roster of speakers will be confirmed soon.

“We are honored to have so many high-level industry executives at our event,” said Susan Li, editor, Travel Weekly China. “They recognize the importance of the travel agent community in China and are dedicating their time to share their viewpoint on today’s trends and issues.”

Major sponsors at CruiseWorld China include Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

“We are excited about the CruiseWorld China event in Shanghai,” said Rebecca Zhang, group publisher of Travel Weekly China. “It supports our overall mission to grow and strengthen the dialogue and business relationships between travel agents and supplier communities."

Cruise lines are making significant investments in China. Royal Caribbean International's Ovation of the Seas, entering service this spring, will homeport in Tianjin. Princess and Costa are building ships for the Chinese market (the Majestic Princess will debut in 2017 and the two Costa ships are due to enter service in 2019 and 2020). In the meantime, Costa will have four ships based in China in 2016, and Princess will have two.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will have ships from all three of its brands (Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises) sailing in Asia in 2016 and is building a ship customized for the Chinese traveler for launch in 2017.