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Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) recently released the 2018 Asia Cruise Industry Ocean Source Market report. The report offers an in-depth look at the growth, demographics and trends of the top cruise source markets in Asia.
2018 saw another successful year within the Asian cruise industry with passenger numbers hitting a record high of 4.24 million, a 4.6% increase on 2017. This accounted for 14.8% of the global ocean passenger volume, behind only North America and Europe.
Multiple source markets, many of which registered double-digit growth in 2018, contributed to Asia’s record-breaking 4.24 million ocean-going cruise passengers. In particular, Singapore, India, Taiwan and Vietnam showed a significant rise.
Broad Spectrum
The report also shines an interesting light on the age spectrum found across Asian Cruise passengers. Statistics suggest that the average cruiser in this region is 45.4 years, lower than the global average of 47 years. Only three markets show real divergence: India, a young 37-year average; Indonesia a 39-year average and Japan an older 57 years.
As cruise experiences become more digital and futuristic, it’s clear that it’s an experience that’s becoming increasingly attractive to a younger audience. In a significant move, in April 2019, Tripadviser launched a forum dedicated to cruising, hinting towards a change of demographics and age profiles of those choosing to take to the ocean.
“Asian cruise passengers are found across the age spectrum, suggesting different consumer segments interested in a cruise holiday and providing numerous possibilities for industry partners to develop the cruise penetration rate in this region.”
“Asian cruise passengers are found across the age spectrum, suggesting different consumer segments interested in a cruise holiday and providing numerous possibilities for industry partners to develop the cruise penetration rate in this region,” said Joel Katz, Managing Director for CLIA Australasia and Asia.
In terms of destinations, CLIA suggests that Asian passengers prefer to stay closer to home with a massive 90% of sailings taking place within Asia. Shorter sailings also remain the dominant choice of Asians with an average sailing duration of 4.9 days – the lowest amongst source market regions in the world.
The Future is Bright
Looking ahead, CLIA suggests that the future is bright. Cruising in Asia is expected to continue growing in popularity with the arrival of new ships in 2019/2020 from big industry players such as Costa Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and MSC Cruises, all available on the Traveltek platform. Additionally, several Asian destinations are also building new infrastructure to support cruise development.
If you’re looking to diversify your travel portfolio to include cruise then now is the time! Get in touch with Traveltek to discover how our sophisticated cruise booking engine and advanced packaging modules will give you the information you need at your fingertips to blow the competition out of the water.
