The number of UK and Ireland travellers taking a cruise in the first half of 2024 surpassed one million, according to exclusive Clia figures.
Travel Weekly has learned this was the first time these half-year figures went over the milestone figure, reaching 1.05 million and marking a 10% increase on the same time in 2023.
For the full-year 2023, the UK achieved 2.3 million passengers an increase of 37% on 2022, or 14.5% on the last full-year comparison before the pandemic in 2019.
Speaking separately on stage at the Advantage Latitude conference on board Ambassador Cruise Line ship Ambience last week, Clia senior events and trade manager Adele Fitzpatrick-Foster said UK passenger figures for the first quarter of 2024 were up 21% year on year.
“Cruise is a very hot topic at the minute,” she noted, as she explained the average percentage increase in passengers year-on-year is typically around 3.5% to 5% due to “managed growth” as new ships are produced throughout the year.
By the end of 2024, there will be 350 ships sailing oceans globally in “a fleet of thirds”, she added. About one third are big ships with over 3,000 passengers, one third are “mid-sized” with 1,000 to 3,000 capacity, and the last third take fewer than 1,000 passengers.
There are 41 ships on order until 2028, including five expedition ships which Fitzpatrick-Foster said provided agents “140,000 opportunities to sell more cruise”.
She also highlighted the average age of a UK cruise passenger was down to 55 years as some cruise lines were attracting a slightly younger adult audience.
There was also a trend of more multigeneration passengers coming on board as 57% of people travel in a group of three or more, 28% travel with three or more generations and 10% travel with five or more generations.
“That gets rid of that myth that everybody thinks that cruising is just for couples,” she stressed.
Fitzpatrick-Foster added that agents should look at the pre- and post-opportunities for cruises as 65% of passengers stay in a resort before departure and 52% stay on afterwards.
“If you’re not booking anybody those pre- and post-stays, you’re really missing out because somebody else is doing that for your customers,” she said.
Fitzpatrick-Foster mentioned shore excursions as another way for the trade to customise cruises for customers, with 61% of Brits doing these activities during their voyages.