The Australian cruise industry
recorded yet another year of
double digit growth in 2012,
and is well on track to outstrip
a target of 1 million passengers
by 2020.
CRUISE Lines International Association
yesterday released its passenger statistics for
last year (CW breaking news) which showed
that almost 700,000 of us took to the waves, a
year-on-year increase of 11%.
That’s a figure that has more than doubled
since 2008, with the sector showing an
average annual growth rate of 20% over
the past decade, “a remarkable result for
any industry,” according to CLIA Australasia
chairman, Gavin Smith.
The 2012 Australian Cruise Industry Report
also showed that the local industry now has
the second highest population penetration
rate in the world, with the equivalent of 3% of
the population taking a cruise last year – just
behind the long-established North American
cruise market at 3.3%.
“Clearly Australians are responding to the
growing number of cruise holidays on offer
from Australian ports, as well as our strong
dollar, which is encouraging more people to
cruise overseas,” Smith said.
“There’s also an increasing awareness
among Australian holidaymakers about the
tremendous value of cruising and the wide
range of cruise holidays available, from
relaxing river cruises to fun family breaks and
adventurous expedition voyages,” he added.
For the first time, the 2012 statistics broke
down the figures by passenger age, showing
that about a third of cruisers were aged over
61 years last year.
Almost half were less than 50 and a quarter
were aged less than 40.
The most popular destination for Australian
passengers was the South Pacific, accounting
for 252,555 passengers or 36.5% of the total.
The fastest growing cruise destination was
the Caribbean, up 36% to 17,316 Australian
passengers, while collectively US destinations
(including Alaska) accounted for 8.3% of the
market or 57,396 passengers overall.
More than 76,000 Australians opted for a
short break cruise of 1-4 days, an increase
of 38% on the previous year reflecting the
increasing availability of these itineraries.
NSW provided the lion’s share of cruisers at
43% of the total, while Queensland accounted
for 22%, Victoria 16% and Western Australia
9% – and interestingly on a per capita basis the
ACT had the highest population penetration
rate, with 5.5% of residents cruising.
International passengers on roundtrip cruises
from Australia as well as trans-Tasman and
trans-Pacific voyages accounted for 16% of the
total, or around 100,000.
And river cruising numbers also continued to
expand, with 12% more passengers (a total of
39,275) taking a river cruise last year.
