China tipped to eclipse US as top cruise market

Cruises are hugely popular among Americans, who make up half of the global market since this form of travel became popular in the early 1980s, but they are only just starting to take off in China.

Less than 1 percent of Chinese outbound travelers choose this kind of vacation compared with 2 to 3 percent in North America and Europe.

Of the 114 million outbound trips made by Chinese last year, 739,600 decided to sail. Industry pundits expect the number will hit a cool 1 million this year, while the Ministry of Transport predicts a jump to 4.5 million cruises booked by 2020.