China enjoys the potential to become the world's largest cruise market, as its cruise tourism industry is expected to boom, driven by international players and government supports, according to industry insiders and market researchers.

China's annual growth for the cruise tourism market has exceeded 40 percent since 2006. It is expected to grow into the world's largest cruise market by 2030, with 8 to 10 million customers per year, according to figures by the Shanghai International Shipping Institute.

ECONOMIC MULTIPLIER WITH GROWTH POTENTIAL

China continued dominating the passenger share of Asia's cruise market, contributing over 70 percent of the region's 4.24 million passengers in 2018, according to data released by Cruise Lines International Association in May.

Cruise travel has become increasingly popular in both metropolitan cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou, and smaller cities including Chengdu, Qingdao and Xiamen, according to Ctrip.com, China's leading online travel agency.

Riding the wave, international cruise operators have identified China as a valuable source market for growth and begun to gain more footholds in the country, including Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

"China has the largest cruise market potential in the world. And it's a great economic multiplier," Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We felt that we wanted to be a part of that, as the world's largest cruise line (operator), to help China and (the) Chinese experience all the great aspects of cruise," Donald said.