19/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - New record for European cruise market. 6.39 million Europeans went on a cruise in 2014, which, according to the European branch of the Cruise Line International Association Europe (CLIA Europe), breaks all records. Germany is in first place with 1.77 million passengers, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain. The United Kingdom and Spain, however, saw numbers fall compared to 2013 (-4.8% and - 4.5% respectively). According to CLIA Europe, the European cruise market has grown by 44% since 2008. This strong growth can be explained, above all, by the “good value for money” of this mode of transport, which includes travel, accommodation and food. CLIA explains that this growth has slowed down over recent years because between 2013 and 2014 it was only 0.5%. (JC)