Global demand for cruise soars in a decade
Global demand for cruise holidays has risen by 68% in the last 10 years, but the potential is still huge says trade association CLIA.
In 2014, passengers reached 22.04 million compared to 13.1 million passengers in 2004, according to CLIA’s 2014 Economic Impact Analysis.
Since 2013, the demand for cruise holidays has grown by 3.4%, from 21.3 million passengers.
The research commissioned by CLIA also found that the cruise industry’s contribution to the global economy reached $119.9 billion in 2014, up from $117 billion the previous year.
This included supporting 939,232 full-time equivalent employees earning $39.3 billion in income. Direct expenditures generated by cruise lines, passengers and crews totalled $55.8 billion.
But CLIA claims there is still room for further growth.
"The potential for new cruise passenger growth is huge," said Cindy D’Aoust, CLIA acting CEO.
"Apart from North America and Europe, other regions of the world account for nearly 85% of the world’s population, yet represent only 16% of cruisers. That reflects a tremendous opportunity for the cruise industry."
North America accounts for 55% of passengers, Europe accounts for 29% – with the UK accounting for 15% (3.38 million) – while other regions of the world, including Australia, China, Singapore, Japan and South America, account for the remaining 16%.
CLIA’s 2014 Asia Cruise Trends Study shows that cruise tourism in Asia is growing at double-digit rates, both in capacity and as a passenger source market, mainly due to China adding 480,000 more cruise travellers since 2012.
Diane
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