UK cruise industry grows to GBP2.5bn
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Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has confirmed the cruise industry’s direct expenditure in the UK was GBP2.49 billion last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.7%.
CLIA also confirmed that the industry contributed GBP13.15 billion to European economies – an increase of 3.4%. The UK sat in third in terms of contributions, behind Italy and Germany.
The total contribution to the cruise sector, including indirect expenditure, comes to around GBP32.19 billion, an increase of 2.9%.
“Europe and the UK are an essential part of the vibrant, dynamic and growing global industry that is today’s cruise industry,” said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. “Over 20 million passengers each year enjoy cruising, which is one of the safest, most affordable and memorable vacation experiences available today.”
Within Europe, the UK remains the biggest source market with 27.7% of Europe’s traffic. The percentage represents around 1.7 million UK passengers of the 6.1 European total. Globally there was 20.9 million passengers.
Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, CLIA Europe chairman said: “Despite the global economic crisis, the cruising industry continues to show steady growth. The number of people who chose a cruise holiday in Europe has more than doubled in the past decade to over 5.7 million; the sector attracted almost a million passengers from outside Europe. As a result it generates employment for more than 326,000 people across Europe, up from 315,500 last year. These impressive figures clearly show the social and economic importance of the cruise sector to Europe as a whole.”
In the UK, Southampton saw 1.5 million passengers passing through its terminal in 2012. The figure means it is Europe’s biggest embarkation and disembarkation port. It also supports over 11,000 UK jobs.
Andy Harmer, director of CLIA UK & Ireland, said: “These figures demonstrate the continued and growing strength of the British cruise market. They highlight the confidence that consumers have in the quality, value, high service standards and levels of safety provided on a cruise holiday.
“The cruise industry is a significant growth vehicle for the UK economy, contributing more in expenditure and jobs each year, despite the on-going economic challenges in this country and the wider European marketplace.”
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