China's cruise industry set for full steam ahead due to tourism boom

One particularly telling observation of the global market as a whole, offered by Fain, is that cruises are very much designed to appeal a lot more to families.

The days when trips were targeted at older customers, or singles, or couples, are fast disappearing over the horizon, he said－cruising has very much become a family affair.

In China, he is also aware of the growing economic impact the industry is having. Companies are investing heavily in training, for instance, meaning more jobs being filled by better-qualified workers.

Royal Caribbean, for instance, hopes to train around 1,500 new staff in China this year, a fact that he－at a time of slowing national economic growth in the country－is delighted about. "After 45 years in the business, the secret to Royal Caribbean's success is the men and women who provide the services," Fain said.

Zheng Weihang, executive vice-president of the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association, fully admits that a shortage of talent could create a worrying bottleneck in the development of the Chinese cruise ship industry, as it steams ahead at such a pace.

Professional staff members, specializing in management, operations, technology, navigation, services and sales are all in hot demand, he said.

Fain agreed that staffing could become a serious issue for the Chinese cruise industry, but he insisted it is far too early in its development to call it a crisis.

The Chinese market, he said, is still in its "embryonic" stages, after all. "We are planning to expand first along the coastline, and then spread inland to attract customers," he said.

"Our biggest challenge remains explaining to people here what exactly a great cruise vacation is all about, but the market is huge, and still has a long way to grow－so we are still well off worrying about the market becoming anything like full."