Passenger demand for cruise
as a holiday option continues to
be so strong that Cruise Lines
International Association (CLIA)
member lines will add a total of
24 new ships to the seas this year,
or 37,546 new passenger berths.
The figure featured prominently
in the governing body’s 2013
‘State of the Cruise Industry’
report, released late last week.
At the end of the year, CLIA’s
member ship count will number
410, up from 393 last year.
Australia was named in the
top five cruise markets globally
with a 3.6% market share, while
also being ranked in the top four
for ship deployments, a result
praised by CLIA Australasia
general manager Brett Jardine.
“Cruising just keeps going from
strength to strength down under
and we look forward to another
big year ahead,” Jardine said.
An estimated 21.3 million pax
cruised on CLIA member line ships
in 2013, with estimates pointing
to a forecast of 21.7m for 2014.
The report saw Australia ranked
second in terms of the fastest
growing cruise markets, climbing
130% in the last five years, second
only to Scandinavia at 184.6%.
Carnival Australia ceo Ann
Sherry added her congratulations
at the result, saying the strong
growth was due to the dynamic
nature of the local industry.
The year also saw new CLIA
branches established in Germany
and Spain, with Italy to follow.
