In company project, final report : Costa Croisières

Résumé du document

Our report intends to provide COSTA CROISIERES with useful data regarding the Cruise Market in China on one hand and expatriates' needs and expectations in terms of a vacation on the other. The main purpose of this report is both to analyze deeply and try to come up with relevant recommendations that tend to bring Chinese Cruise and expatriates closer to each other. With a GDP growing at 9% and an emerging middle class, China is a very attractive market as far as commercial cruises are concerned. Besides, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo accelerate the development of cruises. Each year a growing number of cruises departing from various Chinese ports are planned among several competitors, whose aim is to dominate this huge market. As the first authorized foreign cruise company in China, Costa is one step ahead of its main competitors. In three years Costa has built a strong brand image among Chinese consumers even though the awareness rate is still below other competitors. Nevertheless Costa is well known among foreigners. Do expatriates represent a potential valuable market for cruises departing from China? The collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative surveys among expats living in China brought us to the following general conclusion: Cruises tend to suffer from a bad reputation which can be partly explained by a serious lack of information. Most interviewed expats considered cruises noisy and overcrowded floating hotels with few cultural interests. They fear small cabins and lack of comfort. Besides, they think that the majority of people taking cruises are retired. Furthermore, they are not that attracted by the idea of discovering Chinese coasts in this manner. The majority seeks comfort and quietness and does not want to be "trapped" in organized tours. They are more attracted by cruises heading towards south East Asian countries and seek discovery-oriented vacation. Thanks to the analysis of Expatriates behaviors and habits, we came up with a detailed segmentation of this market and we designed different kind of cruises meeting the expectations of each segment. Last but not least, we highly recommend a focus on communication and advertisement among expatriates.

Extraits

[...] Adaptation time necessity before results, local needs, high cost of moving and family stability can explain such a duration. However, expatriation keeps being a reward for good employees and a career opportunity; that is why expatriates need some time to prove that they worth it. Besides, expatriation is becoming more a choice with private motivation than a company assignment because HR management is more human-oriented, thinking about family and personal integration. Salary There is a huge gap between expatriates' salary and local ones because of the “supply and demand expatriates bring skills which are not available on local market and they are giving up their daily life for an experience abroad required by company; that is why on average, they earn three to five times more than their Chinese colleagues (cf. [...]

[...] As the first authorized foreign cruise company in China, Costa is one step ahead of its main competitors. In three years Costa has built a strong brand image among Chinese consumers even though the awareness rate is still below other competitors'. Nevertheless Costa is well known among foreigners. Do expatriates represent a potential valuable market for cruises departing from China? The collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative surveys among expats living in China brought us to the following general conclusion: Cruises tend to suffer from a bad reputation which can be partly explained by a serious lack of information. [...]

[...] Key learnings This ICP project was a wonderful opportunity to discover business in Asian context and work in intercultural teams during these four months. Despite all difficulties we went through, we managed to cope with them and find solutions to reach our objectives by doing some critical adjustments. Our Chinese team members were critical to help us work in a Chinese environment and deal with intercultural differences. Nevertheless we experienced also cultural differences within our own team. We noticed that our Chinese colleagues were used to formal communication whereas we French students tend to work and communicate more informally. [...]

[...] Besides, they think the majority of people taking cruises are retired. Furthermore, they are not that attracted by discovering Chinese coasts that way. The majority claims for comfort, quietness and doesn't want to be “trapped” in too organized tours. They are more attracted by cruises heading towards south East Asian countries and claim for discovery-oriented vacation. Thanks to the analysis of Expatriates behaviors and habits, we came up with a detailed segmentation of this market and we designed different kind of cruises meeting each segment's expectations. [...]

[...] First, considering the ship itself think that space is too restricted. Then, considering the cruise think that cruises are too boring ( don't think cruise are boring, and are neutral), and 40% think that trip destinations are too limited ( think the contrary and are neutral). About their expectations, the most important criteria for expats seem to be the cabin surface and the excitement of the activities purposed, then come the duration of time spend ashore and the interactivity of the program and games purposed (cf. [...]