Categories: Industry News

Cruising Bang On Trend with British Holidaymakers

Affordable, convenient and always luxurious, cruise holidays are definitively back in favour, with the latest figures from a leading industry conference confirming that Brits love to sail. Straight from Florida’s Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Fort Lauderdale, industry analysts revealed that after several years of stability, 2015 saw a record 1,789,000 British and Irish passengers take to the seas. This represents a 9% increase on 2014’s figures, not to mention the biggest jump in seven years.

Home-grown cruising wins over Brits

As well as overall figures increasing, the number of passengers kicking off their cruises from UK ports rose to 840,000, while the number of fly/cruise holidaymakers spiked to 949,000. This represents respective increases of 12% and 4.9%. Andy Harmer, UK & Ireland director of the Cruise Lines International Association was quick to get behind the new statistics, and comment on the fact that cruising is definitely back in vogue.

“The figures bear testament to the diversity that cruising offers today’s holidaymakers… demonstrated by the increasing number of ships sailing from British ports,” he said.

The Med dominates as destination of choice

Unsurprisingly, the Mediterranean retained its crown as the UK’s favourite cruise destination, with 672,000 passengers seeking out sun, sand and European chic. Britain’s 57 cruise ports also proved popular with both local and international tourists, attracting a record 1,017,000 passenger day calls from a total of 107 ships. Overall, this marks a 10% increase from 2013.

“The magic million is a fantastic figure to reach and is almost triple the day call figures that we first started recording back in 2006,” said CruiseBritain’s Chair Angie Redhead. “The growth in passengers is the continuation of a steady trend and one that we and our members work tirelessly to encourage.”

Kudos to the Danube, Rhone and Seine

Europe’s stunning rivers played a key role in boosting numbers, with the popularity of river cruising spiking by 8% within the UK market. Industry experts also credited the boom to a remarkable rise in investment from lines launching innovative, amenity centric river vessels that set new standards for small scale cruising.

“This, coupled with an ever-increasing choice and diversity of itineraries in Europe and further afield, has led to more UK passengers than ever opting for a river cruise holiday,” Harmer added.

Want to embark on a luxury cruise that departs from your doorstep? Get in touch with our friendly team of Cruise experts today to chat about cruise itineraries departing from Southampton, Tilbury on the Thames, Liverpool, Belfast, Edinburgh and more. Alternatively, give our friendly sales team a call on 0808 2746 777.

Image via Flickr Creative Commons. Photo credits: Roderick Eime, Henk Sijgers, Admanchester

Summary
Article Name
Cruising Bang On Trend with British Holidaymakers
Description
Straight from Florida’s Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Fort Lauderdale, industry analysts revealed that after several years of stability, 2015 saw a record 1,789,000 British and Irish passengers take to the seas.
Author
Claire Wilde

Claire has worked in the travel industry since leaving college in 1994. One of this blog's most regular contributors, Claire covers cruise news and industry trends.

Share
Published by
Claire Wilde

Recent Posts

Sustainable Cruising: How Cruise Lines Are Thinking About the Environment

The topic of sustainability is growing increasingly more urgent. We saw the raft of extreme…

5 years ago

Celebrate Valentine’s Day: Couple’s Guide to Cruising

Cruising can be the perfect romantic getaway that you and your significant other need. Spend…

5 years ago

Coronavirus: What Cruisers Need to Know

Originally posted February 6th 2020 | Updated March 11th 2020 18:00 As the coronavirus continues…

5 years ago

Cruising as a Vegetarian or Vegan

There's no denying it, the world is growing ever more aware of the health and…

5 years ago

The A-Z of Cruising: All the Onboard Lingo You Need to Know

Originally posted by Claire Wilde on 21 May 2017 | Updated by Darcy Alexander on 24 January 2020 Whether you’re…

5 years ago

Here’s How to Make Reservations Online Before Your Cruise

Originally posted by Claire Wilde on 3 January 2018 | Updated by Darcy Alexander on…

5 years ago