Metamorphosis - Cruise Ship Portal

Market intelligence > Future growth
Fast
forward
Having weathered the worst of the economic storms of the last
18 months, the cruise industry is focusing on growth and new
opportunities. Orla O’Sullivan talks to CLIA’s Terry Dale and
Richard Sasso about the positive outlook for 2010.
For cruise operators, 2009 was a
challenging year, although they
fared better than most by keeping
ships full, costs low, and finding new
market niches. Ship and passenger
numbers grew, albeit with operators
forced to lower fares to attract cashstrapped
consumers.
10
As Terry Dale, president and chief
executive officer of the Cruise Lines Industry
Association (CLIA) notes, cruise customers
are starting to book earlier than ever, which
should allow operators to hold firm on 2010
prices, while reaping the benefits of cost
savings put in place last year. “2009 provided
us with the shortest booking window ever,”
World Cruise Industry Review | www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
Cunard Line’s upcoming Queen
Elizabeth is the operator’s third
new ship in six years.
he says. “A year ago, 39% of passengers were
booking less than four months out.”
North America accounts for roughly threequarters
of the global shipping industry. Here,
the cruise industry more than held its own
during the worst of the downturn. Indeed,
11% of travel agents polled by CLIA expect
this year to be the best ever for the global
cruise business, as cruising continues to rank
number one on many counts, including
perceived value for money.
A more representative 75% of respondents
to CLIA’s annual agent survey expect cruise
sales to increase this year, typically by 15%.