Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), today, released their 2018 Asia Cruise Trends, a comprehensive analysis of the cruise industry within Asia.
“Asia once again showed impressive results in 2017 with most Asian source markets registering double-digit year-on-year growth,” said Joel Katz Managing Director for CLIA Australasia & Asia.
“After another year of exceptional growth which saw Asia outperform other established markets, it’s clear that cruising is continuing to grow in popularity as cruise lines continue to deploy significant capacity in the region, including brand new, large cruise ships purpose-built for Asian consumers. 2018 is expected to deliver another year of growth as Asian travellers increasingly recognise cruising as an easy, relaxing, and great value for money way to travel.”
Highlights from the 2018 Asia Cruise Trends Include:
- More Asian passengers in 2017 – Asian sourced ocean cruise passenger numbers hit another record high in 2017 with 4.052M taking an ocean cruise (up 20.6 per cent). Asia accounted for about 15 per cent of total global ocean passenger volume in 2017. Mainland China maintained its dominance as a key source market, accounting for almost 60% of all Asian passengers. Most of the Asian markets registered double-digit year-on-year growth. Between 2012 and 2017, Asian cruise passengers grew from 775,000 to nearly 4.052M, almost a 40 per cent compound annual growth rate.
- More Variety of Ship Products in Asian Waters in 2018 – 2018 will see 38 cruise brands deployed and more ships in Asian waters. There will be a broader variety of cruise products with significant increases in large (2,000 to 3,500 passengers) as well as small upscale ships deployed in Asia. 2018’s scheduled cruise calls are slightly down from the planned calls in 2017 but are maintaining an upward 5-year trend. In 2013, only 43 ships cruised in Asia, marking an 80 per cent growth since 2013.
- South East Asia ports expected to see significant growth – South East Asia will see more than 20 per cent increase in port calls in 2018. In total there will be over 7,100 port calls in Asia with Japan, mainland China, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia expected to receive the most number of cruises. East Asia accounts for 60 per cent of the port calls, followed by South East Asia (36 per cent) and the remaining in South Asia (4 per cent).
- Asian travellers prefer shorter cruises within Asia – Asian travellers continue to predominantly take cruises within the region (91 per cent) with shorter sailings of 4 to 6 nights by far the most popular. With a weighted average age of 44.6 years old, cruise passengers from Asia are one of the younger cruise travellers globally.
The Asia Cruise Trends project, now it’s fourth year, is commissioned by CLIA in collaboration with Chart Management Consultants.
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