New York-listed Carnival on Mondayannounced plans to deploy a fourth cruiseship in China under a broader crusadethat will see capacity increase by 140% over the next two years.
In a statement the operator said the 3,004-berthCosta Serena (built 2007) will set sail from Shanghai in April 2015 and wasquick to point out that it will be the first global cruise company with fourvessels based in China.
“The move will accelerate CarnivalCorporation’s leadership in China, capitalizing on growing consumer demand thatis expected to make the country the second largest cruise market in the worldby 2017,” the company continued.
“Adding a third ship based in China thisyear increases Carnival Corporation’s total 2014 capacity in the country by 66%. In 2015, with four ships based in China for the first time, Carnival’sindustry-leading capacity is expected to jump 140% over a two-yearperiod.”
CEO Arnold Donald said China is ofincreasing “strategic importance” and noted his company is “very wellpositioned to continue working with government officials” to “help the countrymeet its goal of becoming one of the most important cruise markets in the world”.
In addition to China, Carnival identifiedJapan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea as the other individual targetsof a growth initiative aimed at expanding the group's footprint across Asia while maintainingits reputation as a market leader in these same regions.
Carnival is headquartered in Miami where itoversees 100 cruiseships that are spread across ten different brands. Ofthese, the company says Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Cunard,Holland America Line, P&O Cruises and Seabourn are active in Asia.
Today’sdevelopment is unlikely to come as a surprise to industry analysts since interest in China and other parts of Asia has been on the rise for some time. Earlier this year RoyalCaribbean announced plans to dedicate one of its newbuildings to China upondelivery in 2015.
Inthe New York-listed operator’s annual report, which was released just lastmonth, chairman and chief executive Richard Fain said management “anticipatesthe opportunity” to “build the brand even further” in China, which he describedas a “vital market”.
