Walt Disney revealed on Tuesday its plans to add another vessel to its fleet of cruise ships, and this time around the new ship will be sailing from Tokyo.
According to Reuters, the new ship will be modeled after the largest vessel in Disney's fleet, the Wish. The project is in partnership with the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, the Oriental Land Company (OLC).
The planned new cruise ship is a part of the company's $60 billion, 10-year-expansion plan, that will comprise both the company's cruise business and theme parks. The projected launch is in 2028.
At present, Disney boasts five cruise ships in its fleet that are currently in operation. Aside from the planned vessel that will be based in Tokyo, the company has plans for three more, and one of those plans to set sail in 2025 from Singapore.
The name of the Tokyo-based ship has not yet been disclosed. But one thing that makes it truly unique is the 4,000 passenger capacity. The ship is also expected to rake in a whopping 100 billion yen, approximately $621.77 million in sales annually. The OLC said that the prospected income is only within several years from its launch.
Thomas Mazloum, Disney Signature Experiences president, told reporters that the ship will make Disney vacations more accessible for fans in the Far East.
"To set sail from Japan will make Disney vacations at sea more accessible to Japanese guests, who we know are some of our biggest fans," Mazloum stated.
The chairman of Disney Experiences, Josh D'Amaro, told Reuters that the ships will pave the way for those who are located afar from the company's theme parks to enjoy a themed entertainment, citing Melbourne or Vancouver as examples.
He further added that Disney will be able to reach a market segment of cruise ships that has been unaddressed for a long time -- families.
"Disney Cruise Line has ambitious plans to bring family vacations and Disney storytelling to more guests around the world than ever before," said D'Amaro as per The Walt Disney website.
"We are thrilled to continue the success of this expansion as we collaborate with Oriental Land Co. to introduce another distinctly Disney vacation experience to families and fans in Japan," he added.
"Forty percent of the people on those ships today will say, 'The only reason I'm on a cruise ship today is because Disney's here,' which means we're creating a market," D'Amaro highlighted.
The expansion of cruise lines comes as the industry sees a rebound from the global shutdown at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 34.7 million passengers are expected by the Cruise Lines International Association this year, a figure which is an increase of 17% from 2019.
