State of the cruising market - Growth in overall cruise figures, but decline
in the Baltic
In 2006, 16.9 million passengers took to the sea for a cruise. The
disappointing growth rate of just 1.0 per cent is, however, negatively
affected by the volume decreases which were noticed in Baltic short cruises
last year.
Two cruise ships deployed in 24-hour cruises were taken out of service,
reducing the number of passengers considerably. But growth remained strong
in all other markets. The year before, the growth rate was 8.5 per cent. As
late as 1998, the industry had less than 10 million passengers.
Of a total of 448 cruise vessels, 44 are now Panamax size, i.e., they are
too big to transit the Panama Canal. "There is a clear tendency for larger
ships", says Klas Brogren, Managing Director of ShipPax Information. The
"Big Three" cruise groups control 37 per cent of the number of ships, but 74
per cent of the lower berth capacity.
The findings are featured in the new book ShipPax [MARKET:07], which was
published today. The report includes all world-wide cruising activity with
overnight services and vessels without vehicle decks. It excludes day- and
casino cruises, as well as "liner service" between two ports as a means of
transportation.
The number of cruise guests and fleet for each individual cruise brand are
presented. It is also concluded in the report that it is fair to estimate
that the world-wide contribution of cruising is around USD 50 billion,
generating 500,000 jobs.
In another 30-page summary of cruise market report, the fleet size,
segmentation and trade is analysed. Also, all cruise ships sold, chartered,
delivered or ordered in 2006 are listed.
"When talking about all new deliveries, it is also important to consider
inactivated cruise tonnage", says Klas Brogren. The real net addition during
2006 was therefore 16,195 beds. Over the next five years, another 27 per
cent capacity will be added to the cruise industry, but again quite a few
vessels will be inactivated during that time.
Among other facts in the compilation, one can see that 3.1 per cent of the
US population cruised in 2005. The equivalent figure for the UK is 1.8 per
cent, while in the same year 0.8 per cent of the German population took a
cruise. The figure for France was only 0.4 per cent. Or in other words:
there are still enormous potentials in the cruise industry, when the message
of the "value for money" concept becomes widely spread.
http://www.cruise-reviews.com/news/index.asp
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742199. State of the cruising market - Growth in overall cruise figures, but decline in the Baltic
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