In 2018, 28.5 million passengers went on a cruise, marking a 6.7% increase from 2017, as per new figures released from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The CLIA research also showed that North American travellers in particular helped to enhance the global cruise business. The cruise tourism market soared by 9.4% to 14.2 million passengers, accounting for half of all global cruise passengers in 2018.
The new cruise tourism figures suggest that cruise numbers grew at a slightly higher rate than international tourism across channels worldwide. The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer suggested that international tourist arrivals grew 6% last year.
CLIA President & CEO Kelly Craighead said that this is not surprising that cruise travel is on par with overall international tourism growth. Cruising makes international travel accessible for travellers worldwide and it is apparent in the 2018 CLIA global passenger findings. From a renewed interest in cruises to the Mediterranean to a significant increase in adventure cruising, travellers are embracing cruise travel more than ever before.
North America remained the largest region for cruising witnessing an impressive 9.4% year-on-year growth in passenger figures, representing almost half of the global cruise market.
The Asia-Pacific market grew 3.9% to 5,701,000, with Asia and China exhibiting modest growth compared to recent years by growing 5%.
Shorter cruises are also on the rise, with three-day and under cruises going up 10% on 2017 and seven-day cruise numbers going up 9%.
The Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda continued the growth in cruise which is up 6% to 11.3 million passengers in 2018. The Alaskan cruising also saw substantial gains, up 13 percent from 2017, when year-on-year growth was even higher at 17%.
