Viking and China Merchants Group to join forces in expanding China's cruise industry

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 09 April 2019 09 April 2019

On April 8, Viking and China Merchants Shekou, representing China Merchants Group, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture focused on building a cruise line with worldwide cruise offerings for the Chinese cruise market.

This will be a wide-ranging partnership covering from product development to sales and marketing. Further, China Merchants Group’s shipbuilding subsidiaries will partner with the joint venture to design and build new ocean cruise ships dedicated to the Chinese market.

“China is a dynamic outbound tourism market, and we are pleased to be partnering with China Merchants Group in this joint venture to drive the development of the cruise industry – we see Viking’s way of cruising less as a trip and more as a lifestyle,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “For more than 20 years, we have led the industry in developing a fleet of ships and a range of cruise itineraries that we believe provide guests with the most comfortable and enriching way to explore the world. Our partnership with China Merchants Group will allow us to bring this Viking travel lifestyle to more Chinese travelers more quickly, satisfying the Chinese market’s unmet demand for a greater choice of sophisticated travel.”

“China Merchants Group treasures this cooperation with Viking. This is a full scale, multi-dimensional cooperation that covers all three main business sectors of China Merchants group,” said Gangfeng Fu, president of China Merchants Group. “Viking has gained tremendous experience in cruise operations and branding strategies during its 20 years of rapid growth. We sincerely hope that the alliance of the two powerful brands will create synergies and innovative business models that will lead the cooperation into a market-leading cruise brand.

Viking operates a current fleet of 78 vessels, offering scenic cruising on rivers and oceans around the world. China has been a part of Viking’s destination portfolio since 2003, and since setting up local operations in China in 2016, the company has seen strong momentum in its European river cruise product tailored for Chinese-speaking guests.

TripAdvisor announces expansion to cruises

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 09 April 2019 09 April 2019

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today announced the launch of a new cruise experience in the U.S. and U.K. TripAdvisor Cruises expands its offering to both new and seasoned cruisers with the ability to consider a cruise vacation, as they read and write cruise ship reviews, share photos and shop for great deals. This addition expands the TripAdvisor travel ecosystem by exposing cruise to up to half a billion monthly users.

“We know our community demands the best options while traveling, and by adding awe-inspiring cruises to our platform, we’re excited to support the continued growth of the overall cruise industry by bringing cruise to the world’s largest travel audience,” said Bryan Saltzburg, president of TripAdvisor Flights, Cruise & Car. “The addition of Cruise will help solve the complexity of planning and booking a voyage, supported by the confidence of rich user generated content with reviews and photos from millions of TripAdvisor members. For example, cruisers can research and book their flight to the port, a hotel room for the night before departure, review ‘Ship-tinerary’ pages, compare cabin options, book excursions, and read reviews all in one place.”

According to data courtesy of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise industry continues to grow at a steady pace, with 30 million passengers expected to cruise in 2019, which is an increase of more than 34 percent in the past five years. While this is the first time TripAdvisor will feature cruise reviews, TripAdvisor travelers are already passionate about this industry. Based on 2018 TripAdvisor data[i], 32 percent of TripAdvisor users have cruised before and 44 percent are cruise shoppers.

New TripAdvisor Cruises features

Now with the following new features, it will be easy for travelers to find their perfect cruise experience.

– User generated content – ability to read and write reviews, and share candid traveler photos.

– Ship-tineraryä pages – the most comprehensive tool in cruise planning. “Ship-tineraries” deliver robust ship profiles to help users quickly get a sense of “is this the right ship for me.” Featuring traveler reviews, advice and photos, as well as detailed amenities and itineraries, “Ship-tineraries” help travelers make a more informed decision about their trip with an unbiased, detailed view of ships across cruising options.

– Price comparison – discover deals from partners for the lowest cruise prices globally.

– Sort and filter cruises by cabin type, itineraries, price and more.

– Large inventory – shop more than 70 thousand cruises – from ocean and luxury to river and adventure.

Cruise industry embraces traveler reviews

Cruise lines around the world have embraced TripAdvisor’s launch of cruise reviews, as a way for cruising to reach TripAdvisor’s massive community of travelers with a host of expert content.

“The cruise industry is growing at an incredible pace, with more travelers than ever planning their vacations at sea,” explained Gordon Ho, Princess Cruises Chief Marketing Officer. “Having cruise represented on TripAdvisor acknowledges the growth of the sector as a vacation option and will help to introduce cruising to a massive new audience, as part of the world’s largest travel site. We’re thrilled to introduce Princess Cruises award-winning cruise experience to TripAdvisor travelers.”

For almost 15 years, TripAdvisor has been anchored by Cruise Critic, the world’s largest cruise site and credible place travelers turn to when they want to set sail, making TripAdvisor Cruise already an expert in the industry. Building upon this rich history, TripAdvisor will apply those learnings and expertise to its massive audience of 490 million unique monthly users who place their trust in user generated content. Cruise Critic will continue to operate independently of TripAdvisor.

Starting today, TripAdvisor Cruises, including its reviews and functionalities, is available in the U.S. and UK here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Cruises. This experience will continue to evolve with additional cruise lines, cruise ships, cruise ship deck plans, features and content, with expansion to other markets in the coming months.