The cruise market is once again welcoming the policy spring breeze. On March 3, the General Office of the Ministry of Transport issued a notice on the "Orderly Pilot Resumption Plan for International Cruise Transportation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), clarifying the pilot waterway ports, the scope of the pilot and the pilot conditions. It is pointed out that the cruise ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen will be tentatively restored on a pilot basis, and then increased according to the situation. The release of favorable policies has also made international cruise companies move and re-plan the layout of the Chinese market. However, it takes time for new ships to move in and route adjustments, and the industry expects that the overall cruise market will still take about 30 months to 6 year to recover.

The pilot is tentatively scheduled for 6 months to 1 year

The "Plan" specifies the scope of the pilot, and the cruise transportation between Shanghai and Shenzhen and ports in neighboring countries and regions.

In terms of pilot time, the "Plan" proposes that the pilot plan will be tentatively planned for 6 months to 1 year, and it will be optimized and adjusted in a timely manner according to national epidemic prevention and control policies, entry-exit tourism policies and market conditions.

In terms of pilot conditions, the Plan also clarifies that the pilot cities and hinterland have a large source market, the epidemic situation in the area where the overseas port of call is located is relatively stable, and the routes opened have market demand. At the same time, the domestic and foreign cruise companies participating in the pilot resumption of sailing have a sound epidemic prevention and control management system, and the pilot cruise ships have corresponding epidemic prevention facilities and equipment, epidemic prevention materials and drug reserves, etc., have the necessary medical conditions, and have established an emergency response plan for new coronavirus infection. Cruise port enterprises have established a sound emergency management system to meet relevant epidemic prevention requirements.

The relevant person in charge of a large international cruise company said that the release of the "Plan" can be described as a major benefit for the Chinese cruise market. At the same time, it also increases the confidence of international cruise companies, and the cruise market is expected to further develop in an orderly, healthy and stable manner.

A number of giants plan to restart routes to China

The release of favorable policies has also made international cruise lines that have been suspended for three years see the business opportunities to restart outbound travel routes in the Chinese market.

For the next preparations, Royal Caribbean said that it hopes to work closely with relevant government departments, ports, travel agencies and other business partners to strive to allow Royal Caribbean's flagship cruise ship to return to the Chinese market as soon as possible and open international routes to neighboring countries.

MSC Mediterranean Cruises said that MSC Mediterranean Cruises will announce future deployment plans in the Chinese market at an appropriate time.

China Merchants Viking Cruises, which has been operating coastal cruise routes, also smelled business opportunities. It is understood that after the release of the "Plan", China Merchants Viking Cruise announced the launch of an in-depth exploration outbound route with Shenzhen or Shanghai as its home port, and this route is also the first outbound cruise route of China Merchants Viking Cruise, which is scheduled to set sail in June or July this year, and tickets will be officially launched in mid-April.

Wang Xingbin, a senior travel expert, said that cruise lines can now begin preparations for resumption. China's cruise industry is still in its infancy, and the running-in of ports and cruise ships needs to accumulate more experience, and the entire connection between the port of departure and the port of destination must be prepared in advance.

A full recovery is expected in 2024

The recovery of China's cruise market will not happen overnight.

The relevant person in charge of an international cruise company said that the pilot waterway ports specified in the "Plan" have not yet included cruise ports such as Tianjin and Sanya, and the cruise market needs to see the next relevant policies if it wants to return to the state of 2019.

"It will still take some time for the cruise market to fully recover." Liu Zinan, chairman of Royal Caribbean Group Asia, said that after the policy is in place, preparations for resumption of sailing, including recruitment, route deployment, ship transfer, marketing and a series of preparations, will take at least 6 months and more than 12 months.

"This year is the initial stage of the recovery of China's outbound cruise tourism, due to the long transfer period of cruise ships, it takes a lot of time to prepare for the resumption of sailing, and it is expected that the cruise market can fully recover next year." Wang Xingbin said.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Wu Qiyun