Cruise tourism is on the rise and is ready to break records. According to data from CLIA, in 2018 there were 28.5 million cruise passengers in the world. This is a growth of 7% compared to the year before.
Furthermore, it is expected to reach 30 million this year and 40 million cruise passengers by 2028. Year after year, the cruise sector continues to grow steadily and sets new records.
Europe is playing a central role, with 7.17 million cruise passengers registered in 2018, an increase of 3.3% compared to 2017. Of these, more than 4 million go on ships that sail the Mediterranean. In particular, great growth was recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean, with an 8.5% increase. This resulted in a total of 746,000 cruise passengers.
Moreover, there were growth inflows to the Canaries (+9.6%) and the Baltic (+9%). The Central and Western Mediterranean remain the most popular destinations with a growth of 1.2%, for a total of 2.27 million passengers. Meanwhile, Northern Europe recorded a significant +4.8% increase and a total of 1.43 million cruise passengers.
“It is not surprising that the trend of cruise tourism is parallel to the growth of the international one. The cruises make it more accessible to all travel in the world, as evidenced by the passenger record from 2018. Thanks to a renewed interest in the Mediterranean and new offers, in particular, those for adventure travel. Tourists are attracted to cruises like never before in the past,” Kelly Craighead, president, and CEO of CLIA, said.