Five cruise ships enter Asia — Carnival Corporation: Bullish on future market potential

Reported by You Ru / Taipei

The future of the Asian cruise market looks promising. Alan Buckelew, the newly appointed CEO of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, expressed strong optimism about the significant growth potential of the Asian cruise market. Carnival Corporation’s Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises currently operate a total of five cruise ships with Asian homeports. Other brands including AIDA Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), and Seabourn also offer itineraries in Asia.


▲ Sapphire Princess, a ship of Princess Cruises. (Photo / Provided by operator)

Over the past two years, Carnival Corporation's market share in Asia has more than doubled. Buckelew stated that within the next ten years, the group’s various cruise brands will maintain double-digit growth in the Asian market. He pointed out that the cruise tourism market in Asia is still in its early stages, and Carnival Corporation is highly confident in the sector’s strong growth potential in the region.

To expand its presence in Asia, Carnival Corporation has established new offices in the region, employing over 100 staff members. In June last year, to meet the rapidly growing demand from the Chinese market, the company announced the opening of five offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, China, primarily to promote the Princess Cruises brand. Additionally, Carnival Corporation has continued to set up offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. All of these offices also provide support for another of the group’s brands, Cunard Line.

Buckelew noted: “The Asian market is crucial to Carnival Corporation’s long-term development, which is why we continue to invest heavily in both manpower and resources in the region. The new offices established across Asia last year will play a key role in expanding the growth of our Asia-based homeport routes.” He further explained that China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore are key markets for the group’s business growth in the Asia-Pacific region, and the company will continue to explore development opportunities in other markets as well.