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In light of the recent shutdown of Cruise West and subsequent concern over small cruise lines among the travel agent community, American-managed Victoria Cruises – which offers five-star river cruises on China’s mist-shrouded Yangtze – has assured its retail partners that cruise business is actually doing quite well in China despite the economic difficulties faced by most travel entities around the world.
“While tourism businesses across the globe have suffered since the onset of the economic downturn, China remains the exception,” said Larry Greenman, manager of public relations and customer service for Victoria Cruises.
“The economies of the U.S. and European Union have affected our percentages of Western guests, but they have not hurt our business,” added Greenman, who noted that “U.S. travelers traditionally accounted for 75% of its passengers in pre-recessionary times, whereas now they comprise no more than 50%.”
The minor drop in U.S. and European guests, according to Greenman, has not affected Victoria Cruises’ bottom line, however, due to the rapidly growing middle class in China, who are for the first time in the country’s history able to travel their own heritage.
“In addition to ensuring our ships sail at or near full capacity, these Chinese passengers create a more authentic cruise experience for our Western guests,” said Greenman. “We have always provided traditional Chinese entertainment and lectures on local culture, but guests now have more opportunities to take away first-hand experiences by communicating with Chinese guests who are actually becoming increasingly more proficient with the English language,” he explained.
“As a result of our local passengers, many Western tourists are now learning Chinese phrases as well as games such as mahjong,” noted Greenman. “Of course, with Western cruise directors and service designed to meet the needs of discerning Western travelers, our American guests will not feel out of place regardless of the passenger ratio.”
daningVictoria Cruises’ most popular program is the Three Gorges Highlights itinerary. The program features excursions to the impressive Three Gorges Dam in San Dou Ping, an extraordinary feat of engineering and major highlight of the river cruise, as well as the “Ghost City” of Fengdu at Mingshan Hill and a sailing experience through the impressive Small Gorges of the Daning River (pictured left), one of the Yangtze’s tributaries. The scenic journey will bring passengers to a floating dock near Dachang, where they will disembark to board a traditional sampan for a tranquil ride through the “Mini Gorges” of the Ma Du River, a tributary of the Daning River (Daning River excursion may be substituted with Shennong Stream depending on river conditions).
In addition to delightful excursions, Victoria Cruises offers an exhilarating onboard experience with activities such as Tai Chi lessons and a host of nightly entertainment options.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
