The number of Europeans who went on a cruise holiday rose by 17% in 2007, according to the latest statistics from the European Cruise Council (ECC).
The figures, released today in Brussels, showed that five years only 2.6 million Europeans took a cruise holiday.
By 2006 this number had jumped to 3.4 million and in 2007 the figure reached a record high of 4 million.
Of these, 60% chose to travel in the Mediterranean and Altantic Islands, 24% cruised in the Caribbean and other parts of the world and 16% cruised in Northern Europe.
David Dingle, ECC chairman and chief executive officer of Carnival UK, said: “The popularity of cruising for European holidaymakers is growing faster than anyone in the industry envisaged.
“The ECC had predicted that we’d hit 4 million cruise passengers from Europe by 2010. We’ve beaten that target two years early with impressive growth across the region – Spain has seen cruising grow by a third and Italian cruise passengers have increased by a quarter.
“There is no doubt that Europe is the new centre of gravity for the cruise industry and we’re seeing increasing numbers of cruise lines basing ships in the region, which will encourage even more Europeans to cruise in future.â€
The UK is the top source markets for cruise passengers in Europe, with 1.3 million passengers taking a cruise in 2007 – 11% more than in 2006.
The UK saw around 467,000 passengers departing on ex-UK cruises and 870,000 fly-cruise passengers last year.
Growth is being stimulated by increased capacity such as Royal Caribbean International’s Navigator of the Seas, Thomson Cruises’ Calypso and Ocean Village Two.
By Bev Fearis
