The cruise industry seems to have come out of the doldrums, given its performance in 2023. While turnover of 25 billion dollars has not caught up with pre-Covid levels, the number of passengers has risen sharply, to over 31 million international passengers. While the market is booming, driven by a steady appetite among tourists for leisure activities, it has not forgotten its commitment to sustainability. At a time when boats are getting bigger and bigger, with ever more services, what strategies are the players pursuing to ensure a greener future that respects communities?
A booming market
After navigating in troubled waters throughout the health crisis, the cruise sector is finally getting back on its feet. Industry sales are well on the way to 2019 levels, while passenger numbers are breaking records.
This seems to be confirmed by the British cruise company Cunard Line, which has announced a half-yearly result up by 30% in terms of volume and even 42% in terms of turnover on the German market. German managing director Anja Tabarelli points out that bookings for 2024 are well under way, continuing the momentum of this year.
The rebound in this industry is also attracting new players such as Booking, which is entering this market on the other side of the Atlantic. A wise choice, given that Americans account for 58% of the world cruise market. According to a study carried out by the platform, 85% of people who have taken a cruise will do so again, an increase of 6% compared to the pre-crisis seasons.
Made possible by a partnership with World Travel Holdings, this new offer gives American cruisers access to over 10,000 cruises offered by more than 30 companies. While the Booking catalogue highlights a number of destinations, the vast majority of the cruises on offer are in the Caribbean, Europe and Alaska.
For good reason, these three regions are the most popular with cruise passengers from all over the world. Proof of this can be found in the AllClear Travel rankings, where Norway, Greece and Italy are all on the podium, with an average total search volume of over 30,000 per month.
What's more, the Greek cruise market is almost back to pre-Covid levels. More than 5 million passengers have crossed Greek waters this year, well above the 2022 figure but still 500,000 fewer arrivals than in the...
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