AIDA Cruises has launched the first marketing campaign on the Chinese market. From April 2017, with AIDAbella, AIDA Cruises will, for the first time, deploy a ship in China all year round and, in close cooperation with Costa Asia, be offering cruise vacation “Made in Germany” from Shanghai as a new premium product for the booming Chinese market.
“The ongoing growth of AIDA has made Germany the second biggest cruise market in the world. With our Costa Asia brand, we have pioneered the way in China since 2006 and were the first international shipping company to develop the cruise market there. The expansion of our product portfolio to include an AIDA Cruises ship on the fastest-growing market in the world is a strategic step for the further successful development of Costa and AIDA”, said Michael Thamm, CEO of the Costa Group.
“AIDA would not be as successful today if we had not constantly entered uncharted territory in the 20 years since the commissioning of our first new vessel.
We are now venturing a further important step and, with AIDAbella, exporting our successful concept to China, the fastest-growing cruise market in the world. With our lifestyle-oriented and innovative product, we will provide further important momentum for the emerging Chinese market and thrill entirely new groups of guests. I would like to thank our colleagues at Costa Asia for supporting us with their know-how”, commented Felix Eichhorn, President AIDA Cruises.
AIDAbella will be prepared for service in Asia during a dockyard refit in spring 2017. Without changing the essence of the successful AIDA brand, the ship and services will be oriented to the wishes and demands of Chinese guests. Under the motto “cruise vacation Made in Germany” i.a. the “Brauhaus” featuring a blend of Bavarian conviviality meets with modern far eastern cuisine in the in the spacious buffet restaurant “World of Asia” where the hot pot restaurant “Hot & Spicy” will be integrated. New on board are as well successful German brands as Rimowa or Hugo Boss.
Christened in Rostock on April 23, 2008 by supermodel Eva Padberg, AIDAbella was the fifth ship in the AIDA fleet. Since then, the ship has welcomed more then 750,000 guests on board to explore the most beautiful holiday regions in the world – including the Baltic Sea, the Canaries, the Mediterranean, the Orient, Southeast Asia, USA and the Caribbean. Since going into service, AIDAbella has covered over 600,000 nautical miles.
AIDAbella will bid farewell to all her German fans with unique cruises to exotic dream destinations along the most splendid coastlines of Southeast Asia. From mid-December 2016 to the beginning of March 2017, the ship will depart from Bangkok on eight fascinating 14-day cruises through Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Source: Carnival Corporation
