Last month, I attended both Seatrade Cruise Global and CLIA's Cruise360 conference, and the overarching theme of both shows was how strong the cruise industry is. Words like unprecedented, noisy, and solid were thrown around among cruise line presidents and CEOs, and orders for new ships were announced almost daily.
During the Seat Trade period, CLIA released its 2024 State of the Cruise Industry Report and its numbers. teeth It's amazing.
From 2019 to 2023, the number of cruisers in North America grew by an impressive 17.5%, from 15.4 million ships in 2019 to 18.1 million ships in 2023. Additionally, the CLIA fleet's global transport capacity is projected to increase by 10% over the next four years, leaving plenty of room for future growth.
This is great news for travel advisors.
“Travel advisors play a very important role in that,” Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of CLIA, told me in a roundtable discussion at Cruise360. “The role advisors play and why they are an enduring support is because matchmaking is important and having the right product means advisors are important. [new-to-cruise] It will remain a cruiser forever. ”
Here are some data points from this year's State of the Cruise Industry report that will make you jump.
- 12% of cruisers take two cruises a year and 10% take a cruise 3-5 cruises per year!
- 71% of international travelers are considering their first cruise.
- Over the past two years, 27% of cruisers have been new to cruising, a 12% increase in this segment.
- 36% of the world's cruisers today are under 40 years old.
- 73% of cruise travelers say: Travel advisors have a huge influence When it comes to cruise decisions, cruise lines cite the knowledge and experience of their advisors as a key advantage.
- 11% of cruise travelers say: Considering only cruises Looking forward to the holidays in 2024.
Are you having fun dancing yet?
Here are two more facts.
- There is also a growing desire to take more expensive cruise vacations. The number of passengers participating in expedition itineraries increased by 71% from 2019 to 2023.
- Millennials are just a few years away from making up the majority of cruisers. Now baby boomers and Gen Xers are evenly matched, each accounting for 24% of the cruising population. But Millennials are right behind her at 22%. As more baby boomers leave the travel market, the size of the millennial generation means that sooner or later that age group will become the majority of cruisers. More importantly, the same applies to cruisers that are planning to cruise again. Her 84% of past cruisers of baby boomers and Gen Xers plan to cruise again. 81% of Millennials said the same, as did 74% of Gen Z cruisers.
Add all these statistics to the fancy equation and you have a huge opportunity for travel advisors. Especially as his CLIA global fleet grows, with 35 new ships coming between now and his 2028, there is even more confusion as to which ships are suitable. ship.
“The opportunity lies in understanding what the unique differences between products are,” Craighead said. “It’s an opportunity to be able to share that wide range of products and dispel the idea that there’s only one type of cruiser and itinerary.”
She added that travel advisors can “inspire and excite” travelers by doing this.
Caught unawares
There's one more thing to note in the “State of the Cruise Industry” report. Because that surprised me.
If I were to ask you which segment of cruise ships has the most ships (less than 1,000 ships, 1,001 to 3,000 ships, or more than 3,001 ships), what would you say?
No, really, what do you say? [Jot it down if you can before reading on. I’d love to hear what your first thought was.]
I thought it was in a bucket of over 3,000.
I was wrong.
The report states:
- In 2023, 34% of the CLIA fleet had fewer than 1,000 lower berths. It is currently predicted that this proportion will remain the same in 2028.
- In 2023 and 2028 (also current), 10% of the fleet will or will accommodate between 1,000 and 1,999 passengers.
- In 2023, 29% of the fleet had between 2,000 and 2,999 lower berths.. But now, in 2028, that percentage will drop by 3 percentage points to 26%.
- In 2023, 16% of the fleet had between 3,000 and 3,999 lower berths.. Current projections suggest a decline of 1 percentage point to 15% in 2028.
Well, here's what surprised me.
- In 2023, Only 12% of the fleet had more than 4,000 lower berths! Current predictions are that by 2028, 3 percentage points increase to 15% of vehicles.
Put another way, even in 2028, when even more megaships enter service, the 3,000-plus segment of cruise ships will still represent only 30% of the total fleet, more than the other two groups studied. It will be less. Separately.
However, most consumers are unaware and unaware of this important fact.
“There's a perception that cruising is just one thing,” Craighead says. “People don't really know that you don't have to be on the biggest ship.”
And here, too, there are great opportunities for travel advisors.
Consumers don't see ads for luxury yachts or expedition cruises. It is up to the advisor to disseminate the information and reap the benefits.
What do you think? Are you equally excited about the opportunities inherent in cruise sales in the coming years? And are you as surprised as I am by the composition of CLIA's global cruise fleet? Share your thoughts with dsaltzman Let us know @travelmarketreport.com.
