Ti Gong
Captain Etienne Garcia talks about his expedition adventures at the Pudong event.
An event to promote expedition cruise tourism has been held in the Pudong New Area with more Chinese travelers turning their eyes to the niche market in recent years.
Voyages to remote destinations are the fastest-growing segment of the cruise industry, with the scale of the adventure cruise travel market nearly tripling from 2021 to 2023, according to the Expedition Cruise Network.
Expedition cruise travel is forecast to continue growing this year, with surging demand for visits to polar regions. Antarctica remains the most sought-after destination for adventure cruises, followed by Greenland and the home of polar bears, the Svalbard Archipelago, according to ECN.
Ponant
A cruise ship makes its way through the ice on a polar expedition.
China had become the world’s second-largest source of tourists for Antarctica, second only to the United States, before the pandemic, according to a report released by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) for the 2023-24 season.
American tourists still dominate Antarctic tourism, with the Chinese market ranking third, according to the report.
The event organized by French luxury expedition cruise brand Ponant, which has been serving the Chinese market for 15 years, celebrated the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.
Captain Etienne Garcia, helmsman of icebreaker Le Commandant-Charcot, set a new record in human Arctic exploration in September this year by completing the transit of the North Pole of Inaccessibility, the Geographic North Pole, and the Magnetic North Pole during a single voyage.
Ti Gong
Cruise expedition photos on display at China Art Museum during the event.
He told how he navigated the PC2 icebreaker to achieve the feat and how the oceans and polar regions had inspired his exploration over the past two decades.
“We can see increases of Chinese explorers in recent years and the figure is recovering to pre-pandemic level, and they vary in all ages, from young couples to teenagers and the elderly,” he said. “We have witnessed the interest of Chinese travelers in expedition cruises.”
Nearly 800 photographs taken by Ponant China passengers were on display, offering a visual feast that spanned from Antarctica to the Arctic and across global niche destinations.
Ti Gong
Cruise expedition photos on display at China Art Museum.
Ponant
Three polar bears spotted during an expedition.