Cruising is riding the wave of the recession, attracting more customers than ever, according to Passenger Shipping Association figures just out.
The numbers show cruise passengers were up 6% in 2010 compared to 2009 and cruising now accounts for 11.7% of the total overseas package holiday market, up from 10.6% in 2009.
UK cruise departures were also up by 10% in 2010, underlining the popularity of trips that don’t require expensive flights at the start and end of the holiday.
The figures show that Brits took 1.62 million cruises last year – more than double the amount taken in 2001.
And the PSA forecasts that cruise passenger numbers are heading towards 1.7 million this year and will hit two million by 2014.
Mediterranean cruises are still the most popular with Brits – some 43% of British cruisers chose this region – with Northern Europe the second most popular.
PSA Director William Gibbons said: “The UK cruise market continues to buck the trend and 2010 was no exception.
“The cruise sector reports impressive growth and the success of UK cruising, during one of the toughest economic periods the world has seen, can be attributed to the excellent value for money and the fantastic variety of a cruise holiday.
“The exceptional standards of quality and service are the key to our continued growth, along with the huge choice of worldwide destinations and the wide range in styles of cruising.”
He added: “2011 is well and truly on course to be yet another record year, with 1.7 cruises expected to be taken by Brits, and we are confident that cruise passenger figures will reach two million passengers by 2014.”
Meanwhile, and somewhat more light-heartedly, Travelmole can reveal today that just under one in ten serial cruisers have admitted to cheating on their partners whilst on board.
Research carried out by independent cruise comparison website cruisecompare.co.uk has found that 9% of Brits who cruise regularly have been unfaithful to their other halves – but only 18% of them confessed.
The poll asked 1,218 British cruisers, all of whom had been on five cruises or more, about their romantic life when on the high seas.
