According to the seventh edition of the Cruise Lines International Association’s Travel Agent Cruise Outlook research report, the cruise industry is continuing strong. Namely, cruise sales are on the rise for 79% of travel agents.
This increase has remained consistent for the past several reports and that doesn’t seem to be declining. In fact, the results are more positive over the last 12 months.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
In fact, 41% of agents say their cruise business is up by more than 10% this year, compared with 38 percent last year. An additional 22% of agents say their sales are up between 6-10 percent%, while a fall in agents who report no market change has translated into increases in those seeing positive sales. New ships and the amenities they come with, have played a significant role in attracting more clients, Tara Hall of Tara Hall Travel said.
Meanwhile, cruising customers are spending more money than last year. Agents report that 79% of their cruisers have increased their spending compared to last year, up from 73% the year before. More than a quarter added 10% to their cruise budgets in the past 12 months, and another 31% added between 6-10%.
Alaska lies at the top of the list of popular destinations, and is even more popular than last year. 64% of agents say Alaska is a growth market for them right now, compared to 57% a year before. This trend is similar to findings from our first quarterly global report showing that the volume of passengers traveling to Alaska was up by about 15% in 2017.
Other favourite destinations remain popular as well, including:
- Caribbean/Bermuda/Mexico (43%);
- Mediterranean Europe and Canada/ New England (39%);
- Hawaii (37%);
- Australia/New Zealand and Panama Canal (both 36%);
- Northern Europe (35%);
- California/ Pacific Coast (31%).
Finally, the destination itself may be of great importance for cruisers, according to Lucinda A. Belden, owner of Stingray Travel:
We see a trend towards more authentic experiences in the travel destination. In order to meet this, we are not only trying to establish connections and resources in the destination areas, but are trying to make it a priority to physically visit and experience the destinations first-hand.
