As a result of China’s growing middle class, river cruise operators such as Victoria Cruises have seen an influx of Chinese passengers aboard their Yangtze River vessels.
“While Victoria Cruises’ Yangtze River experience was initially created with the Western market in mind, we’ve recently taken on a larger share of Chinese nationals who were able to explore their own country’s heritage for the first time as a result of China’s growing middle class,” a representative for Victoria wrote in an email.
According to Victoria, at the height of the economic crisis, the number of Chinese passengers aboard its Yangtze River vessels exceeded 50%. And although the ratio has shifted back considerably since then, Victoria, along with other Yangtze operators such as Century Cruises, are having to learn how to balance a mix of languages and cultures aboard their vessels. Because of the language differences, passengers from different origin markets are split into different shore excursion groups, for one.
But, noted the Victoria representative, “we found that the introduction of Chinese passengers actually added to the authenticity of the experience. Many of our Western passengers enjoyed meeting and mingling with their Chinese counterparts.”
That being the case, high season is at different times of the year for the two markets. May, September and October are high season for Western passengers, who account for up to 90% of passenger capacity during these months, according to Victoria. And Chinese guests peak during Chinese New Year, which usually lands in late January or early February, as well as in March and November.
“For the most part, Western and Chinese passengers do not travel in large numbers at the same time,” the Victoria representative said.