27th Jan 2015 08:53
PANAMA (Alliance News) - Cruise operator Carnival Corporation & PLC on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with China Merchants Group to explore the possibility of two joint ventures designed to accelerate the development and growth of the overall cruise industry in China.
The MoU would explore both Port & Destination Development and Ship-Owning joint ventures with the aim of potentially introducing China's first world-class domestic cruise brand, Carnival said.
Recently, Carnival Corp. announced its plans for immediate capacity growth in China in 2015 to meet growing demand. With Costa Cruises adding the Costa Serena in China in April of this year, Carnival would be the first global cruise firm with four ships home-ported in China. Costa Serena joins Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and Sapphire Princess already home-ported in China.
Carnival is growing its market presence by 140% from 2013-2015 and expects to carry 500,000 cruise passengers in China in 2015, the company said.
Shares in Carnival were trading up 0.1% at 3,112.00 pence on Tuesday morning.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX