Under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the Hongkou District People’s Government, and the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office, as well as the cooperation of the Hongkou District Bureau of Culture and Tourism and China Merchants Viking Cruise, the launching ceremony was themed “Guests come from the sea, let’s go to the east together”. The ceremony was officiated by Li Qian, Secretary of the Hongkou District Committee of Shanghai, Lv Ming, District Mayor of Hongkou District, Zhang Qi, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking Cruise, Karine Hagen, Executive Vice President of Viking Cruise, Liu Ye, Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Shekou, Yang Zhiyong, Vice President of Shanghai SIPG Group, and Li Bin, Captain of China Merchants Yidun, among other guests. Jointly initiate.
The official launch of this project not only injects new development opportunities into China’s cruise tourism industry, but also, along with the continuous relaxation of China’s visa free policy and the gradual improvement of supporting policies such as optimizing entry convenience, promotes “China tourism” as one of the international travel trends.
The “China Exploration Tour” route is operated by the first luxury ocean going cruise ship to naturalize in China, the “China Merchants Yidun”, which is currently the only luxury cruise ship capable of operating coastal routes in China. This route takes Shanghai and Shenzhen as its homeports, passing through ports such as Zhoushan, Dongtou in Wenzhou, Pingtan, and Xiamen, leading international passengers to comfortably enjoy the “China Tour”. Between September and November 2024, Viking Cruises will offer 8 voyages, and some ports along the route will also receive high-end foreign passengers for the first time.
Relying on the onshore experience of this route, as well as the onboard dining, entertainment, and leisure experiences that embody Chinese culture, Viking Cruises will showcase the rare Chinese scenery and cultural charm to international travelers, promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and provide an important platform for “telling Chinese stories well”. At the same time, the launch of this route will also help improve the development of tourism economy and foreign-related services in multiple domestic cities, and promote the high-quality development of China’s tourism industry.
Relying on high-quality cruise experiences, tell the world the story of China well
The launching ceremony kicked off with a creative performance of a combination of Chinese and Western musical instruments. Guests from relevant government departments, cooperative enterprises, authoritative media, and others gathered on the “China Merchants Yidun” to witness the official launch of the “China Exploration Journey”.
China has a rich history and culture, and is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. For many years, Viking Cruises has been committed to telling the story of China to international travelers. Between 2004 and 2020, we led over 180000 high-end travelers from Europe and America to explore the Yangtze River Basin in China by river boat. Now, I am very happy to bring them a brand new ‘China Exploration Journey’. The opportunities in China’s inbound tourism market are booming, and we look forward to leading our guests to explore China in depth.
Viking Cruise also partnered with Shanghai’s one-stop external information service platform City News Service (CNS) to provide practical Chinese travel guides and information for foreign guests on board the cruise ship; At the same time, we have collaborated with Jiushi Group’s transportation card company to launch the Viking joint version of the Shanghai Pass travel card product, providing a series of services to assist foreign guests in “easy travel” to China.
Embark on a cultural tour of China with a deep humanistic experience
On the day of the launch ceremony, the local characteristic and intangible cultural heritage market carefully planned by the Hongkou District Cultural and Tourism Bureau at the North Bund International Bus Terminal attracted the first voyage passengers of the “China Exploration Tour” to stop and explore. At the fair, China’s Paper Cuttings art, wood carving, batik and other non heritage cultural creation and characteristic experiences vividly demonstrate the contemporary charm of China’s ancient crafts. Representatives of Shanghai Municipal Government and Hongkou District Government also passed on the Chinese tradition of “hospitality” to the passengers of Capital Airlines with a hot welcome ceremony, and presented souvenirs to express their wishes for the journey.
Viking has always advocated the cruise travel with the destination as the core, so every destination on the route of “China Exploration Tour” has prepared the tour items included in the ticket for the guests – for example, in Shanghai, the city landmark, the Bund, Yu Garden, etc; At Dongtou, climb to the top of the 1500 year old Wanghai Tower to overlook the beauty of the Chinese coast; In Xiamen, delve into the intangible cultural heritage of Chinese stone carving and shadow carving.
At the same time, guests also have numerous paid upgrade experience projects to choose from, such as taking a cruise at Zhujiajiao in Shanghai to experience the historical sedimentation of the ancient town, and experiencing the traditional Chinese martial arts of “Eight Section Brocade”; In Zhoushan, go deep into local seafood markets, beaches, and fishing villages to discover the charm of Zhoushan, or visit Dongsha Ancient Town to learn about China’s marine culture; In Xiamen, strolling through the “Sea Garden” Gulangyu Island, a fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, or visiting Nanjing Tulou to explore China’s unique architectural art and cultural heritage
Continuously building benchmark products for “cruise ships+cultural tourism” and promoting high-quality development of the tourism industry
Currently, one of the important goals for the future development of the cruise industry is to adhere to the concept of “shaping tourism through culture, highlighting culture through tourism, and promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism”. After years of deep cultivation in the Chinese market, Viking Cruises has been committed to creating differentiated high-end cruise products through innovative measures, constantly meeting the diverse tourism needs of Chinese consumers.
As early as 2016, Viking Cruises was the first to launch a fully Chinese service European river vessel product tailored for Chinese guests in the Chinese market. In 2020, Viking Cruises and China Merchants Shekou jointly established China Merchants Viking Cruises, and jointly launched the “China Coast Cultural Tour” series of routes in 2021. In 2023, Viking Cruises became the first domestic cruise company to announce the resumption of China’s outbound European river vessel business.
Nowadays, Viking Cruises has taken the lead in implementing the concept of cultural tourism integration into the inbound tourism market as the first coastal cruise tourism project aimed at international travelers, injecting new development vitality into China’s cruise economy and industry. Looking ahead to 2025, Viking Cruises also plans to further enrich the Chinese coastal routes serving inbound passengers, cover more destinations, explore more onshore travel experience projects, and restart Chinese coastal cultural tours for domestic tourists. For domestic and inbound guests, Viking’s coastal routes in China will make appropriate differentiation in destination and onshore experience, leading foreign guests to explore destinations they encounter for the first time, while leading domestic travelers to experience cultural and tourism treasures they have not yet discovered in familiar cities.
