Carnival Corporation & plc are to capitalize on the cruise market in China with plans to further expand its operations there with the deployment of two additional cruise brands in 2017.
Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises will join Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the Chinese market, making Carnival Corporation the first company to operate four brands in China – which officials expect to eventually become the world’s largest cruise market based on surging demand for cruise vacations by Chinese travellers.
As a result of Carnival Corporation’s expansion in China in 2017, four of its 10 brands will have at least one home-ported cruise ship in China.
The plan to deploy two additional ships – one new ship each for both its Carnival and AIDA brands – and operate four total brands in China in 2017 embodies Carnival Corporation’s long-term, multi-brand strategy to provide Chinese travellers with a variety of vacation options and experiences to meet growing demand across all segments of the Chinese market.
Carnival Corporation announced in July that its existing brands already sailing in China – Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises – will continue to expand in 2016 with each brand introducing a new ship to its fleet in China in 2016, representing a 58% increase in total capacity.