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Just swell: 20 million go cruising
The number of people around the world who took a cruise holiday grew by 10% in 2011 – an increase of almost two million people – to top 20 million global ocean cruise passengers for the first time.
The numbers increased from 18.7 million to 20.6 million between 2010 and 2011, with North America (11.5m) and Europe (6.2m) identified as the main markets.
In Australia the number of cruise passengers increased by 30% in the past year to exceed more than half a million for the first time. The International Cruise Council Australasia (ICCA) has predicted that there will be one million Australians who will take a cruise holiday in 2020.
ICCA general manager Brett Jardine said the global figures were a powerful reminder of the size of the cruise industry and the widespread appeal of cruise holidays.
"The figures not only underline the global strength of the cruise industry, they also confirm the impressive performance of the Australian and New Zealand markets in recent years, particularly given our relatively small populations," Jardine said.
Christine Duffy, Cruise Lines International Association president and CEO, said, "This is the first time that European figures have passed six million and the first time Australian cruise passengers have topped half a million."
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