Brussels, 17/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Recent figures released by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA Europe) show that Europe continues to dominate the cruise passenger market.
The sector has not felt the effects of the crisis at all. The cruise industry's economic output bore this out in 2013 with a figure of €39.4 billion (€37.9 billion in 2012). What is more, the cruise industry accounted for 330, 000 jobs last year.
CLIA puts this continued success down to the popularity of cruises among Europeans, who made up a third of cruise ship passengers in the world. 6.4 million European residents booked a cruise holiday in 2013, representing a 3.6% increase over 2012. Europe is also a major destination for cruise passengers and ships and the number of passengers embarking on their cruises from European ports reached 6 million in 2013, i.e. a 5.2% increase over 2012.
CLIA notes that European shipyards also dominated shipbuilding, building most of the world's state-of-the-art cruise liners. In 2013, cruise lines spent €4.03 billion on new builds and refurbishments in Europe and European shipyards are under contract to build 24 cruise ships with a combined value of €12.1 billion through to 2017.
Pierfrancesco Vago, CLIA Europe's Chairman, said that these positive results achieved in 2013 reaffirm Europe's position as a dynamic hub at the core of the global cruise industry. He also pointed out that, the cruise industry keeps generating great economic benefits for Europe during this crucial period of recovery. (MD)