This last decade has seen the biggest increase in cruise bookings there has ever been. It has managed to shake off the old conception of being something only enjoyable to those who have retired and have a bit of money to burn, rather than leave it to anyone in their will. There has been a dramatic diversification in the cruise sector recently, with lots of new offerings based on different destinations, age groups, activities, length and price. This has resulted in a huge boom in the market and more people taking to the seas on the vast floating hotels than ever before.
Leading this mass-evacuation of land, is of course the UK. Britain has also been a sea-loving nation and it seems they have been proving it by racking up a huge 1.5 million cruises last year between them. Out of the total cruises booked in Europe, this makes up a whopping 35%. Only Germany has a vague chance of challenging this title with a total of 21% market share according to results from a study conducted by Silversea Cruises at the Seatrade cruise convention in Miami.
Those destinations most popular with Europeans were the Atlantic Islands and the Med. Which is strong evidence to suggest that sun and clear waters are still the biggest sellers. These days you dont even have to get off the ship to enjoy the holiday lifestyle either. Most good luxury cruises are equipped with multiple swimming pools, dining halls, theatres and even golf courses.
The European cruise industry has seen an impressive 66% growth in the number of cruise passengers in the last five years…a trend that is set to continue says chairman of the ECC and CEO of Oceania Cruises, David Dingle.
There are 20 new ships being built as we speak according to Dingle, all of which are bound for the European markets and all hitting the water by 2012.
