Cruise Tourism Market Research, 2031
The global cruise tourism market size was valued at $5.3 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $13.6 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2022 to 2031. Cruise tourism is one of the popular forms of tourism that encompasses all the faces of tourism sector namely transportation, hospitality, accommodation, and others. Cruising has become one of the popular activities among the travelers. Cruise tourism includes various types of cruises majorly river cruise, ocean cruise, expedition cruise, and others.
Cruise tourism refers to the holidays that are entirely or partly based on a cruise ship. In addition, during cruise tourism, the travelers can experience multi-center holidays by visiting various destinations throughout their trip. Cruise ships come in various sizes ranging from small yachts to megaships and cruising can take place on rivers or in oceans. Some of the popular destinations preferred by travelers for cruise tourism are Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Arctic.
Cruise tourism is gaining significant popularity as it is a luxurious form of traveling that involves all-in-one inclusive holiday on a cruise at least for 24 hours. Cruise tourism involves large number of travelers that visit a particular destination at a same time. Cruise tourism has a popular and long history that can be dated back to 1822. Cruise tourism plays a vital role in boosting the economic stability of any nation. For instance, the Caribbean region is one of the popular ocean cruise destinations with lucrative spaces for travelers. Cruise tourism offers quality food & beverage, luxurious accommodation, with recreational activities, casino, and other services. These factors are anticipated to drive the cruise tourism market demand during the analysis timeframe.
The environmental concerns associated with cruise tourism is anticipated to restrain the market growth. For instance, the cruise ship generates large amounts of waste that can lead to graywater, deposition of solid waste, sewage, and other factors that can cause oily bilge on water. Such wastes pollute the marine environment thereby putting the life of aquatic animals in danger. Also, the amount of carbon dioxide released by these ships can lead to environmental pollution.
The growing popularity of cruise destinations across the world is anticipated to drive the cruise tourism sales and generate excellent opportunities in the coming years. The world-famous cruise destinations are Glacier Bay, Alaska, Bora Bora, Avignon, France, Vienna, Austria, and others. For instance, Glacier Bay is a popular cruise tourist destination during which the cruise sails through the Glacier Bay National Park. During the visit, the travelers can experience an incredible view of wildlife, glaciers, fjords, and others.
Vienna, Austria is another popular spot for cruising. Vienna has been popular cruising spot along the Danube River. While cruising at Vienna, the travelers can enjoy the views of historic places, vibrant nightlife, and incredible architectures. AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, and Emerald Waterways are the well-known cruise lines that travel to Vienna, Austria. Additionally, Flam, Norway, is another exciting destination for cruising which is a quaint village located in Norway. This place is known for its scenic views of snow-capped mountains, gorgeous mountains, waterfalls, and river views. The cruises namely Marella Cruises, P&O Cruises, and Viking Ocean Cruises travel to this destination. These factors are anticipated to drive cruise tourism market opportunities during the forecast period.
The key players profiled in this report are Ambassador Cruise Holidays Limited., AmaWaterways, Carnival Corporation & plc, PONANT, Cosmos Tours Ltd., Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation Ltd, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., Norwegian Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, and Seabourn Cruise Line.
The cruise tourism market is segmented on the basis of type, duration, passenger age, and region. By type, the market is divided into river cruise, ocean cruise, expedition cruise, theme cruise, adventure cruise, and others. Based on the duration, the market is classified into 1-3 days, 4-6 days, 7 days, 8 to 13 days, 14 days, 15-20 days, and more than 21 days. By passenger age, the market is divided into less than 12 years, 13-19 years, 20-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years, and above 60 years. By region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
The cruise tourism market is segmented into Type, Duration and Passenger Age.
By type, the ocean cruise sub-segment dominated the market in 2021 and is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. Ocean cruise offers ultra-luxury cruising experience to the travelers with spacious and stylish amenities. The ocean cruises are equipped with state-of-art amenities, elegant furnishings, separate sleep zone, lounge area, butler services for ultimate retreat. The ocean cruise features finest toiletries, ambient lighting options, private verandah for making the most of fresh ocean air experience. Ocean cruise offers exotic dining experiences with multi-cultural culinary adventure, in-suite beverage & dining service, advanced heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system (HVAC). The ocean cruise also has entertainment system, luxury king size scenic slumber bed. These factors are anticipated to drive the growth of ocean cruise segment during the forecast period.
By duration, the 7 days segment dominated the global cruise tourism market in 2021 and it is estimated to show the fastest growth during the forecast period. 7 days segment of cruise tourism is quite popular and some of the popular cruises include Caribbean-Western Cruise, Eastern Caribbean-Miami, Western Caribbean Cruise, Mediterranean-Eastern Cruise, Southern Caribbean-San Juan, Hawaii Cruise, 7 Nt Western Caribbean & Perfect Day, Bermuda-Boston, and others. For instance, Norwegian Pearl is a popular cruise ship that offers 7 days cruise tourism by visiting various ports Boston, Cruising, King’s Wharf, and Boston.
By passenger age, the 40-49 years segment dominated the global cruise tourism market in 2021 and 20-29 years segment is anticipated to show the fastest growth during the forecast period. The passengers between age group of 40-49 years are majorly involved in cruise tourism are avid form of travelers as most of the people in this age group prefers to a career break or a gap from their professional life in order to rejuvenate their mind by indulging in exotic cruising activities.
By region, North America dominated the market in 2021. Cruise tourism is highly popular in the North America region with West Coast, Pacific Coast, Mexico, and California being the popular cruising destinations. According to the estimates by Cruise Industry News, the leading cruise industry news provider platform, the number of cruise passengers in North America is estimated to account for 5% of the total cruise passengers across the globe. The most visited cruise tourism destinations in North America are Key West, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cozumel, Mexico, St. Maarten/Martin, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additionally, the U.S. has some of the world’s best cruise lines such as Virgin Voyages, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, and others. These factors are anticipated to drive the North America cruise tourism market share during the analysis timeframe.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Cruise Tourism Industry
- The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted several businesses including travel and tourism sector. Cruise tourism was one of the worst hit sector during the pandemic. This is because the cruise tourism industry is capital intensive owing to its enormous supply chain that significantly contributes to the substantial economic contribution
- The on-set of COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the financial performance of cruise tourism sector owing to complete shutdown of ports and ban on travel. The social-distancing norms, complete lockdown imposed across several countries have led to decline in the number of travelers globally
- Many countries had announced the ban on entry of cruise ships that negatively impacted the development of cruise tourism sector. Travel bans led to a decline in number of travelers due to the fear of spread of COVID-19 virus, therefore, the cruise tourism companies have suffered heavy operating losses
- For instance, Royal Caribbean Cruises reported an operating loss of around $5.8 billion in 2020. Similarly, the Carnival Cruises had reported an operating loss of around $9.5 billion and Norwegian Holiday Cruise reported an operating loss of around $4.5 billion in 2020
- Additionally, the global cruise passenger numbers declined by whopping 80.6% during the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in huge revenue losses for the companies operating in the cruise tourism sector. All these factors have negatively impacted cruise tourism sector during the pandemic
Key Benefits For Stakeholders
- The report provides an exclusive and comprehensive analysis of the global cruise tourism market trends along with the cruise tourism market forecast.
- The report elucidates the cruise tourism market opportunity along with key drivers and restraints of the market. It is a compilation of detailed information, inputs from industry participants and industry experts across the value chain, and quantitative and qualitative assessment by industry analysts.
- Porter’s five forces analysis helps analyze the potential of the buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the market for strategy building
- The report entailing the cruise tourism market analysis maps the qualitative sway of various industry factors on market segments as well as geographies
- The data in this report aims at market dynamics, trends, and developments affecting the cruise tourism market growth
Cruise Tourism Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 Market Size By 2031 | USD 13.6 billion |
 Growth Rate | CAGR of 10.4% |
 Forecast period | 2021 - 2031 |
 Report Pages | 290 |
 By Type |
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 By Duration |
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 By Passenger Age |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation Ltd, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., AmaWaterways, Ambassador Cruise Holidays Limited., Silversea Cruises, Carnival Corporation & plc, Cosmos Tours Ltd., PONANT, seabourn cruise line, Norwegian Cruise Line |
Analyst Review
Cruise tourism industry is becoming quite popular owing to increase in the number of travelers globally. Cruise tourism is an all-inclusive form of tourism that incorporates dining & beverages, entertainment, onboard spaces, submarine, health & wellbeing, and suites. Some of the popular cruise tourism destinations across the world are Antarctica, Caribbean, Australia, Europe, Greenland, Baltics, & Fjords, Central America, and others. Cruise tourism includes indulgent and spacious suites that includes in-suite beverage and dining service, butler service, highest sound insulation as per marine class, en-suite bathroom with shower and sanity, full mini-bar stocked with wines, a private terrace and verandah, and others. These factors are anticipated to drive the cruise tourism market growth during the forecast period.
The cruise tourism market is negatively impacted by environmental impact such as air pollution owing to the release of harmful gases caused by combustion of fuel. However, in the coming years, the market is estimated to witness growth at a rapid pace owing to increase in the number of cruise tourism destinations. For instance, Glacier Bay, Alaska, Avignon, France, Bora Bora, and Vienna, Austria are among the world's most famous cruise destinations. Glacier Bay, for example, is a popular cruise tourist destination where the visitors can see wildlife, glaciers, fjords, and other natural wonders. These aspects are anticipated to provide significant growth opportunities for the cruise tourism market players in the future.
Among the analyzed regions, North America has accounted for dominant market size in 2021, followed by Europe, LAMEA, and Asia-Pacific. Rapid infrastructural developments in cruise tourism industry, increase in the number of travelers, and rise in disposable income are some of the major factors contributing to the market growth.
The upcoming trends in the cruise tourism market are the growing popularity of distinct forms of cruise tourism, namely expedition cruises, theme cruises, sea cruises, charter cruises, river cruises, and others.
Cruise tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors which is a major driver of economic growth that attracts a large number of travelers globally. Cruise tourism supports the infrastructural development of a country and generates a sense of cultural exchange between travelers and citizens. These aspects are anticipated to boost the adoption of cruise tourism during the analysis period.
North America is the largest regional market for the cruise tourism industry.
Cruise tourism is anticipated to reach $13,641.4 million by 2031.
Ambassador Cruise Holidays Limited., AmaWaterways, Carnival Corporation & plc, and PONANT are the major players that hold the highest market share in cruise tourism industry.
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