2018
AUSTRALIA OCEAN
SOURCE MARKET
1.35 million Australians took an ocean cruise in 2018
The Australian source market continued its long run of positive
growth in 2018, although at a lower rate than in previous
years. A total of 1.35 millon Australians took a cruise last year,
an increase of 0.9 per cent over 2017. Though positive, the
rate of growth was down from the 4.4 per cent shown in 2017,
placing Australia behind other large cruise markets such as
North America (up 9.4 per cent) and Europe (up 3.3 per cent).
This was mainly the result of lower growth in local cruising
(up just 0.1 per cent), due to well-publicised infrastructure
constraints and their impact on cruise lines’ ability to position
new capacity in this region.
One in every 17 Australians is cruising
Australia once again leads the established cruise markets in penetration rates, with 5.8 per cent of the population taking
an ocean cruise in 2018, or the equivalent of almost one in every 17 Australians. This compares to 4.0 per cent in the
USA, 3.0 per cent in the UK, and 2.8 per cent in Germany.
Future Potential
While the local industry faces growth constraints caused by a shortage of cruise infrastructure in Sydney, the
construction of a new International Cruise Terminal in Brisbane and other cruise related projects announced in Cairns,
Eden and Broome are expected to reignite growth in the homeport market.
Cruise lines have already announced signicant new vessel deployments in this region beginning from 2020/2021. At the
same time, smaller older vessels will be replaced with newer larger ships to cater to Australian passenger demand while a
solution to the Sydney infrastructure constraints is developed.
Although the reduced growth trend may continue in the short term into 2019, the future outlook for the Australian
ocean cruise passenger market remains positive. As government and local stakeholders recognise the potential for the
industry to offer an even broader and more frequent range of domestic itineraries, this will increase the contribution the
industry is able to deliver to Australia’s national and regional economies.
Globally, there are 122 new cruise ships set for delivery by 2027 at a total cost of more than US$64 billion. As the industry
continues to invest billions of dollars in new vessels, new destinations and strong source markets such as Australasia have
the potential to reap the rewards of increased deployment as long as they can meet capacity requirements.
Among the ndings of CLIA’s annual report were:
Local
Cruising
(AU/NZ/SP)
0.1%
3.4%
0.9%
2017 2018
TOTAL
Fly-Cruise
Australians Cruising
1,029
1,333
304
1,030
1,345
315
Nevertheless, Australians continued to recognise cruise as a preferred holiday choice. The number who chose y-cruise
options in destinations beyond local waters continued to perform strongly in 2018 (up 3.4 per cent), with Europe and
the Mediterranean the most popular long-haul destinations for Australian cruisers (up 21.1 per cent).
While local growth is inhibited by
capacity constraints, y-cruise
remains a popular choice for
Australian holidaymakers.
Longer, more expensive y-cruise
options remain appealing to older
passengers
NSW’s share of the source market
is falling as the popularity of cruise
grows in all states.
The average age of an Australian
ocean passenger remains steady at
49 years
The average cruise length is 8.8
days, down from 9.1 days in 2017
The growth in short domestic
cruises is driving the average cruise
length down
Australia continues to lead the
established cruise markets in
population penetration.
Where Are Australians Cruising?
In 2018, the majority of Australian cruisers continued to sail within Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacic
(76.6 per cent). Of these, 467,000 sailed locally on Australian cruises (up 2.2 per cent), while 434,000 cruised in the
South Pacic (down 7.9 per cent), and 129,000 sailed in New Zealand (up 27.7 per cent). As a result, regional ports
and destinations continued to benet from domestic cruise travellers, delivering signicant economic impact to local
communities including for restaurants, hotels, shops, transportation and local tour operators.
In terms of y-cruise, Europe and the Mediterranean were the most popular long-haul destinations for Australians in
2018, accounting for 8.1 per cent of cruisers. 7.3 per cent cruised in North America, the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii,
while Asia followed with 5.4 per cent of travellers.
World Perspective
There was a 6.7 per cent increase in the number of people
taking a cruise globally last year, with 28.5 million cruisers
worldwide. This gure is forecast to break the 30 million
barrier in 2019.
While the cruise sector represents only 2.0 per cent of the
overall global travel industry, it continues on a similar growth
pattern to international tourism worldwide. According to
the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international
tourist arrivals grew 6.0 per cent in 2018, totalling 1.4 billion,
while cruise travel grew at 6.7 per cent over the same period.
Among the ndings of CLIA’s 2018 global
statistics were:
• With 5.1 per cent of global cruise passengers
hailing from Australasia, the region was the
fourth largest source market in the world. As a
region with a comparatively small population,
Australasia punches well above its weight.
• Cruises in the Mediterranean rose in
popularity with global cruisers.
• Passengers preferred shorter cruise durations
with seven-day cruise itineraries up 9.0 per
cent and cruises of three days or less up 10 per
cent.
• Some 11.3 million cruise passengers travelled
to the Caribbean in 2018, up six per cent.
• Alaska has experienced double-digit growth
with a 13 per cent increase in 2018.
• When compared to the rapid increases of the
past, 2018 saw moderate cruise passenger
growth throughout Asia and China with a 5.0
per cent rise in cruise passengers from the
region.
2018
Global Ocean
Passengers
North America
49.9% – 14,240,000
Europe
25.1% – 7,170,000
Asia Pacic
20% – 5,701,000
South America
3.3% – 930,000
Other
1.7% – 476,000
BALTICS, NORTHERN EUROPE
WORLD, TRANSATLANTIC, EXPEDITION
ALASKA
ASIA
HAWAII, NORTH AMERICA
THE MEDITERRANEAN
THE CARIBBEAN
SOUTH PACIFIC
NEW ZEALAND
AUSTRALIA
PANAMA, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA
AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST, OTHER
35k pax
74k pax
14k pax
467k pax
129k pax
8k pax
28k pax
22k pax
72k pax
37k pax
25k pax
434k pax
01
02
04
05
03
Who is cruising in Australasia?
DEMOGRAPHICS
The Australasia region continues to be an attractive cruise destination for inbound holidaymakers with around 200,000
international cruise visitors. In total, cruisers from more than 145 different countries visited the region.
In 2018, North America was the largest source of inbound cruise visitors (125,000), followed by Western Europe
(42,000). The growing source market of Asia (14,000) continues to deliver signicant cruise passengers to the region,
doubling in 2018.
Australian Passenger Origin
The strength of the Australian cruise market continues to stem from its appeal to a broad demographic and across all
age groups.
While NSW remained the biggest source of cruise passengers in 2018 and accounted for 53 per cent of all cruisers, this
was a two percentage point decrease on 2017, reecting the growth in the popularity of cruising across all states.
Queensland remained the second biggest contributor, increasing to 22 per cent of ocean cruise passengers.
NSW
QLD
VIC
WA
SA
TAS
ACT
NT
53%
22%
13%
5%
4%
1%
1%
<1%
AUSTRALIA
NORTH AMERICA
EUROPE/UK
ASIA
NEW ZEALAND
1m pax
125k pax
42k pax
14k pax
77k pax
Passenger Age
Australian cruise passengers continued to come from across the age spectrum, with an average age of 49 in 2018.
% by
Age
Range
2018
8%
8%
6%
6%
7%
8%
8%
8%
13%
13%
18%
18%
21%
21%
18%
17%
2017
<12 Years 13-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 > 70 years
Looking at the distribution of passenger age by cruise destination and duration, shorter itineraries in the South Pacic,
Caribbean and Australia appealed to younger cruisers, while middle-aged cruisers were more likely to be attracted to
New Zealand, Asia and the Mediterranean.
The average age increased to the 60s for passengers on longer cruises to Northern Europe, Alaska and Expedition
Destinations as well as on Transatlantic and world cruises.
Note: This report is based on 2018 calendar year passenger statistics provided by CLIA’s ocean Cruise Line members,
representing over 95 per cent of the global cruise industry capacity, plus additional data collected from non-CLIA Cruise
Lines. The research is based on a methodology that is used in similar studies around the world. The consistency of
approach facilitates comparisons with other major cruise markets. Data points below 2000 are not shown.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, providing a unied
voice and leading authority of the global cruise community. CLIA supports policies and practices that foster a safe,
secure, healthy and sustainable cruise ship environment and is dedicated to promoting the cruise travel experience.
Economic, environmental and cultural sustainability is of the utmost importance to the cruise industry. We support local
economies not just by bringing guests and crew to their shores but by using local services and goods on our ships. We
sustain +1.1M jobs and US$134B in economic impact worldwide. Every day, the global cruise industry is hard at work
protecting the environment and strengthening local destinations through bold leadership, innovative stewardship, and
strong strategic partnerships. For more information about CLIA and the Cruise Industry visit www.cruising.org.au
% by
Duration
2018
2017
1-3 Days 4-6 Days 7 Days 8-13 Days 14 Days 15-20 Days 21+ Days
11%
12%
17%
15%
20%
18%
39%
42%
6%
6%
4%
5%
3%
3%
42
20.0
18.0
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
44 46
Pacic
Caribbean
Australia
NA West Coast
Hawaii
Eastern Med
Canada/New England
Expedition Destinations
Africa/Middle East/Other
Transatlantic/World Cruise
South America
China
Northern Europe
Baltics
Asia
Western Med
Central Med
Alaska
New Zealand
48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
Avg. Length in Days
Avg. Age
Cruise Length
On average, Australians cruised for 8.8 days (down from 9.1 days in 2017). Cruises of 8-13 days remained the most
popular, accounting for 39 per cent of the market, though shorter cruises of up to seven days grew the strongest, up 10
per cent, reecting increased demand for shorter cruises.
