ARNOLD DONALD
Chief executive, Carnival Corp
With 1m new cruisers a year for the past 10 years, consumers are discovering that cruising is the world’s greatest vacation. With a new decade upon us, cruising is poised to continue its explosive growth.
As an industry, it is a priority to make cruising much more sustainable. For us, our top priorities are operating safely, protecting the environment and achieving excellence in compliance.
In December 2018, our AIDA Cruises brand launched AIDAnova, the first cruiseship powered by LNG, part of our “green cruising” design and the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology.
We have 10 LNG-fuelled ships on order, and each will significantly improve air emissions. We are advancing the science for innovative technologies, such as fuel cells and battery power, and we have installed nearly half our fleet with shore power capability to use where available.
We begin the next decade having installed nearly our entire fleet with advanced air quality systems, which result in significantly cleaner air emissions.
These developments and more will help meet our industry’s commitment to reduce the rate of carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.
Innovation is an industry hallmark. Cruise companies will spend about $65bn on new ships over the next 10 years, and each ship improves efficiency and provides imaginative ways to make cruise vacations even more enjoyable.
Great vacation and value
So whether sailing in 2020 on our Carnival brand’s new Mardi Gras to enjoy Bolt, the first roller coaster at sea, or experiencing a highly personalised OceanMedallion vacation with Princess Cruises, each new vessel reinforces cruising’s reputation as a great vacation and value.
With more than 300 ships in the industry and new vessels launching every year, we will all continue our focus on demand generation. This includes existing markets with ample room for growth, as well as new markets.
It is widely believed that China will one day be the world’s largest cruise market, and many believe its expected growth will gain traction in the next 10 years.
Along with others, we will deliver new ships to China, including vessels specifically designed for Chinese guests. We will also launch a new China-based cruise company, building and deploying new ships to meet the growing demand in China.
For the past 10 years, cruising has prospered and set new records every year. The next 10 years promise to be even stronger and more exciting than ever.
This is part of a multi-sector series on shipping industry outlook for the decade ahead. Read the full report in this week's print edition.
