MIAMI, Aug. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Cruises
– one of 10 brands from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:
CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company – today
announced the launch of a new WeChat Mini Program onboard Costa
Asia's industry-leading fleet in China. With WeChat, a leading online social
communication platform in China,
Chinese guests will be able to enjoy hassle-free mobile payment and
enhanced onboard experiences, starting September 2 onboard Costa Atlantica.
WeChat (also known as Weixin in China) is an integrated lifestyle-changing
platform for instant messaging, commerce and payment services from
Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading
provider of Internet value added services in China. As of second quarter 2017, there were
over 963 million monthly active users on WeChat and Weixin.
Representing a first in the global cruise industry, Costa
Cruises launched the first Mini Program to book and pay for a
cruise itinerary on the WeChat platform on August 8. The Mini Program is the innovative
feature that allows WeChat users to instantly open and access
services inside WeChat without having to download the full
standalone mobile app, providing a faster and better user
experience. The latest announcement features an enhancement of the
WeChat Mini Program to also include onboard entertainment booking
and payment, among other functions.
With the new WeChat Mini Program, guests will be able to browse
and book specialty restaurants, spa, duty-free shopping and other
onboard services through complimentary intranet
service, without subscribing to onboard internet services.
"As a pioneer in the Chinese cruise industry, Costa Cruises
constantly innovates to enhance the guest experience," said
Mario Zanetti, president of Costa
Group Asia. "With China being one of the world's leaders in mobile
and digital advancements, we see great potential in leveraging
WeChat's leading position and technologies to not only
facilitate hassle-free payment, but also provide a more immersive
and digitized onboard experience for our guests."
As the brand that brought cruising to China in 2006 and the leader in the Chinese
cruise market today, Costa Cruises operates year-round in
China and has provided cruise
vacations for over two million Chinese guests with differentiated
products, including its popular "Italy at Sea" offering, through four ships
based across North, East and South
China. Costa Cruises, along with Carnival Corporation, will
continue to maintain its leadership in developing a healthy
eco-system in the Chinese cruise industry.
About Costa Group
The Costa Group is the
leading cruise company in Europe,
headquartered in Genoa, Italy. The
27 ships of the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia
together have a total capacity of 76,000 beds. The fleet will be
further strengthened by six new vessels by 2021. The company has a
global workforce of 27,000 employees working onboard and in its 20
offices in 14 countries.
In 2006 Costa Cruises became the first international cruise
company to operate homeport cruises in the China market. For more than a decade, Costa
Cruises holds the principle of customer-oriented and focuses on
innovation and excellence to bring Chinese guests the most creative
and high-quality cruise products with the flavor of "Italy at Sea."
Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company
and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise
and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10 dynamic brands that
include nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations
in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA
Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK), as well
as Fathom, the corporation's immersion and enrichment experience
brand.
Together, these brands operate 103 ships with 231,000 lower
berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 17 new ships
scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and 2022. Carnival
Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess
Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the
Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London
Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the
only dual listed company in the world to be included in both the
S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival Corporation as being
among the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies" in both the design and
travel categories. Fast Company specifically recognized Carnival
Corporation for its work in developing Ocean
Medallion™, a high-tech wearable device that enables
the world's first interactive guest experience
platform capable of transforming vacation travel into a highly
personalized and elevated level of customized service.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com,
www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc