游輪公司將船調(diào)離中國

The number of Chinese cruise passengers is set to fall for the first time next year as lines redeploy ships from what had been the industry’s most promising market, deterred by falling prices and restrictions on travel to South Korea.

2018年中國游輪乘客將首次下降。受價格下滑和赴韓游受限的打擊，游輪公司紛紛將船只調(diào)離曾經(jīng)是該行業(yè)最有前途市場的中國。

About 2.4m Chinese will take cruises in 2018, down from 2.8m this year, according to Cruise Industry News, an industry journal, as almost all operators in the Chinese market reduce capacity.

根據(jù)行業(yè)期刊《Cruise Industry News》的數(shù)據(jù)，2018年將有240萬中國乘客乘坐游輪，較2017年的280萬有所下降，中國市場上幾乎所有游輪運營商都將削減運力。

Cruise passenger numbers grew 70 per cent annually in China in the four years through 2016, according to Goldman Sachs. This year the country accounted for 5-10 per cent of all ship deployment for Royal Caribbean and Carnival, two US cruise operators that together control about 70 per cent of the global market.

據(jù)高盛(Goldman Sachs)的數(shù)據(jù)，在截至2016年的4年中，中國的游輪乘客每年增長70%。今年，中國占皇家加勒比國際游輪(Royal Caribbean)和嘉年華公司(Carnival)所有船只的5%到10%。這兩家美國游輪運營商共計控制著全球市場的70%。

Both companies are cutting the number of ships deployed to China next year. For instance, Royal Caribbean’s 3,800-capacity Mariner of the Seas will return to the US. “International cruise lines are going to trim down their capacity,” said Zinan Liu, China president for Royal Caribbean, adding that “next year the passenger numbers could be less”.

這兩家公司均在削減2018年調(diào)派到中國的船只。比如，皇家加勒比可搭乘3800人的“海洋水手號”(Mariner of the Seas)將返回美國。“國際游輪公司將削減它們的運力，”皇家加勒比中國區(qū)總裁劉淄楠說，他補充稱“2018年乘客數(shù)量可能減少”。

Carnival’s Princess Cruises had two ships in China this year but will relocate one to Europe and another to Australia next year. “We are letting the market find equilibrium,” said Anthony Kaufmann, vice-president for international operations.

2017年嘉年華的公主郵輪(Princess Cruises)品牌下有兩艘游輪在中國，但2018年其中一艘將調(diào)派歐洲，另一艘將調(diào)派澳大利亞。“我們正在讓市場找到平衡，”嘉年華國際運營副總裁安東尼•考夫曼(Anthony Kaufmann)說。

Carnival’s decision to cut cruise capacity “arguably confirms that China has not lived up to expectations”, Morgan Stanley said. The bank added that charter rates paid by travel agencies for ship places were down as much as 20 per cent in 2017 from the previous year.

摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)表示，嘉年華決定削減游輪運力，“可以說證實了中國未能達到預期”。該行補充稱，2017年旅行社為游輪鋪位支付的費用比上年下降了20%。

China bars cruise lines from selling directly to passengers, leaving the lines at the mercy of travel agents who can discount heavily to fill ships.

中國禁止游輪公司直接向乘客銷售，使這些公司受到能夠討價還價、拿到大幅折扣的旅行社的擺布。

The industry has been dealt a blow by Beijing’s bans in March and again in December on group tours to South Korea because of its objection to Seoul’s deployment of the US-built Thaad missile defence system.

由于反對首爾方面部署美國建造的“末段高空區(qū)域防御系統(tǒng)”(THAAD，中文簡稱“薩德”)，2017年3月北京方面出臺赴韓游禁令，12月又再度叫停韓國跟團游，這對郵輪業(yè)是一個打擊。

But while the tension between Beijing and Seoul has hit local tourism, there are fundamental problems. Chinese passengers are more elderly than their global counterparts and tend to spend less on food and drink, say cruise line staff.

然而，雖然中韓之間的緊張關(guān)系打擊了地區(qū)旅游業(yè)，但有一些問題是根本的。游輪工作人員稱，比起國外游客，中國游客的年齡偏長，在食品和飲料上的花銷較少。

Choppy seas and cold weather around most of China in winter mean demand is highly seasonal, while port infrastructure has lagged behind, making for long and uncomfortable waits for boarding.

中國大部分地區(qū)在冬季海浪洶涌、氣候寒冷，所以中國游客對郵輪游的需求具有顯著的季節(jié)性，而港口基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施較為落后，導致登船流程過長且不舒適。

But cruise operators see long-term potential because of the low penetration of cruises in China, where just 0.2 per cent of the population have cruised compared with 3.5 per cent in the US.

但郵輪運營商們看到了中國郵輪游的長期潛力，原因是郵輪游在中國的普及率還很低，只有0.2%的中國人嘗試過郵輪出行，而美國的這一比例達到3.5%。

Cruise companies also are trying to enhance their appeal to higher-spending millennials. Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas, which sails from Shanghai, features a skydiving simulator and an observation pod attached to a giant mechanical arm.

郵輪公司也在試圖提升其對千禧一代高消費人群的吸引力?；始壹永毡鹊?ldquo;海洋量子號”(Quantum of the Seas)從上海起航，該船有一個跳傘模擬器和一個連接在巨大機械臂上的觀景艙。