Wealthy want to cruise
There’s a sharp increase in cruise vacation interest among the wealthy, says a new study.
Twenty three percent of affluent households say they are likely to take a cruise in the next six months. That’s up from 18% the year before.
“Affluent” is defined as households with $250,000 in assets or $150,000 a year in income.
The study by Phoenix Marketing International found interest in more cruising came particularly from younger households.
Specific cruise lines singled out by respondents for potential bookings included Carnival, Norwegian, Viking and Seaborn.
John Antonello, managing director of the Travel & Entertainment Group of Phoenix, said:
“Other cruise studies that we conduct among the general population illustrate that people typically start their cruising experience with Carnival or Royal Caribbean and then alternate their future cruises among these brands and the other two or three contemporary cruise lines.”
What is different about affluent cruisers is that they may start with contemporary lines, but quickly graduate to luxury and premium cruise lines in a short period of time, he added.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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