Multi-generational travel is a “meaningful segment” of the cruise market, although it may reduce compared to 2022 figures, according to Clia chair Ben Bouldin.
Speaking at an event in London last week, Royal Caribbean International’s EMEA vice-president shared data collected by Clia which found 27% of those who sailed for two or more nights in the past year travelled in a party consisting of three or more generations.
He said cruise is a “phenomenal vehicle” for multi-generational holidays, but that the 2022 figure was inflated following the pandemic and may not continue.
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However, he encouraged agents to take advantage of the increased desire for large family travel.
“That standalone statistic definitely says to me that multi-generational cruising is a segment that agents can really focus on,” Bouldin told a Travel Weekly webcast.
“I think we saw a lot of families coming together in 2022 post the pandemic, and that number was probably inflated because we hadn’t seen our loved ones in many cases for so long and cruise was a phenomenal vehicle.
“But I think it was a very big, exaggerated number in 2022 and we’ve all seen our families now so we’ll see [if it continues]. But it’s definitely a meaningful segment and cruise lends itself to that sort of holiday.”