The ocean cruise ship industry surpassed 2017 passenger projections, reaching 26.7 million cruise passengers globally up from a projection of 25.8 million, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
For 2018, based on the new vessel launch schedule and expected regional deployment, CLIA is projecting another positive year-over-year growth for the industry with a passenger forecast of 28 million.
“Once again, the cruise industry has raised the bar and exceeded projections and expectations,” said Cindy D’Aoust, president and CEO, CLIA.
Asia, which accounted for about 15 percent of total global ocean passenger volume in 2017, experienced a 20.5 percent increase last year in comparison to 2016.
The U.S. and Canada also saw ocean passenger growth in 2017 with a 5 percent increase over the prior year. Australia too experienced positive growth at 4.9 percent. Europe recorded a 2.5 percent global passenger growth over 2016.
North America represented the largest ocean passenger volume in 2017 (49 percent) with a total of more than 13 million ocean cruise passengers followed by Europe (26 percent) with nearly seven million ocean cruise passengers.
CLIA's new analytics also reveal the average age of global ocean passengers last year was 47 years old. These passengers also preferred cruising for an average of 7.2 days, 2 percent lower than the average cruise length in 2016.