Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the largest cruise industry trade organisation globally, published its 2018 global cruise passenger statistics. An almost 7% increase was seen from 2017 to 2018 in the cruising industry, reaching the 28.5 million passengers. According to CLIA, North American travellers continue embracing cruising, with an annual passenger increase of 9% (14.2 million passengers) in 2018.
Mediterranean Moves: Cruises in the Mediterranean are moving up in popularity with an impressive 8% increase from 2017 to 2018 totalling more than 4 million cruise passengers.
Shorter Cruises: 7-day cruise itineraries are up 9% while 3-day and under cruises are also up 10% in 2018.
Caribbean Rebounds: An impressive 11.3 million cruise passengers travelled to the Caribbean in 2018 an annual increase of 6%.
Destination Alaska: Alaska has experienced double-digit growth with a year-over-year 17% increase in passengers in 2017 and another 13% increase in 2018 accounting for more than 1 million cruisers travelling to this destination.
Moderate Growth in Asia: 2018 saw moderate cruise passenger growth throughout Asia and China with a 5% increase in cruise passengers from the region totalling a 4.2 million.
Cruise Passenger Insights in North America
North American passenger numbers increased by 9% from 2017;
Mediterranean cruises grew substantially in popularity last year, reaching more than 4 million cruise passengers worldwide. Of those, more than 700,000 passengers came from North America up 29% from 2017;
Continued growth in cruising to the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda, is up 7% to 9.8 million passengers in 2018;
North American cruisers made up the significant portion of cruise passengers travelling to Alaska in 2018 with 906,019 cruise passengers increasing to 14% from 2017;
Additional Destinations – Other growing North American destinations include the Hawaii & North Atlantic Coast region, Mexico, California, and Pacific which increased 4% in 2018, totalling 1.3 million cruise passengers.
