CLIA Australasia figures reveal a slowing in cruise growth.
More than 1.34 million Australians took an ocean cruise in 2017, a 4.4% increase on the year before, according to the just-released ocean passenger Cruise Industry Source Market Report from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia.
The figures represent a slowing in growth since last year’s results, when CLIA Australasia announced a growth rate of 21% in 2016 over 2015, the biggest on record.
CLIA Australasia md Joel Katz said while the growth wasn’t as dramatic as recent years, he noted it was more than two and a half times higher than the rate of Australia’s inbound holiday arrivals growth rate of 1.7%.
“With demand for cruising higher than ever, there is still so much potential,” Katz said.
“As long as we can solve the lack of cruise infrastructure development in Sydney and across the region, we’ll see further increases in passenger numbers.”
The report also found Australian cruisers still spend most of their time in local waters, with the South Pacific (35%) and Australia (34%) accounting for the most cruise passengers.
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