Australia has become the first nation worldwide in the history of cruising to exceed 4% market penetration, with 4.2% of all Australians taking a cruise holiday last year, official statistics released this morning show. Six years ahead of originally forecast, the one-million cruise pax barrier has also been broken, with...
Australia has become the
first nation worldwide in the
history of cruising to exceed 4%
market penetration, with 4.2%
of all Australians taking a cruise
holiday last year, official statistics
released this morning show.
Six years ahead of originally
forecast, the one-million cruise
pax barrier has also been broken,
with CLIA Australasia announcing
today that 1,003,256 Australians
set sail on a cruise in 2014.
The figure was an astonishing
20.4% improvement on 2013,
irrefutable proof of the lure of
cruising in the Australian market.
Australia continues to be the
fastest growing market worldwide
for cruising, outpacing France
which was the only other major
nation to record a double-digit
growth rate, itself up 13.6%.
On a global basis, Australia is
now the fourth largest source
market for cruise pax, making up
4.5% of the world’s passengers.
Broken down by region, the
South Pacific was overwhelmingly
the most popular destination to
cruise, with 39% of all Aussie pax
or 392,549 visiting the region.
NSW was the dominant state in
Australia, accounting for 41% of
the national cruise market.
Europe is also growing markedly
and remains the leading longhaul
destination, with Australian
pax numbers doubling in the last
three years to hit 93,529 in 2014.
Aussies spent 10 million sea
days over the year, with cruises of
8-14 days duration most popular.
Of particular note was a sharp
increase in short voyages, with
the 0-4 day category seeing a 59%
spike in pax numbers, while 5-7
days climbed 31% year-on-year.
“These figures show that more
and more Australians are realising
cruising is an easy, relaxing way
to holiday which represents
incredible value for money,” CLIA
Australasia chair Gavin Smith said.
River cruising again stood out,
exploding in popularity by 62%
year-on-year worldwide, with
Europe up 66% alone.
From a base of only 25,506
Aussies travelling on river cruises
just five years earlier, this figure
skyrocketed to 79,530 last year.
Looking to the next major
target, CLIA Australasia said it was
now aiming to reach two million
pax by 2020, which would require
annual growth of 12.5% over the
next six years to accomplish.
