The return of cruising

The results of a Clia-conducted survey of 500 British travellers have been revealed. Here Andy Harmer, Clia UK & Ireland’s managing director, and Clia chairman, Ben Bouldin, share the top takeaways.

What are the standout points raised from the survey?
Ben Bouldin: Well I guess the most obvious talking point is that British and Irish holidaymakers took 1.7 million cruises last year, up from 479,000 in 2021.

That’s a really good number and reflects the dramatic pace with which the cruise industry has returned to service.

If you think about it, we weren’t really fully back up and running last year, and even when we were back up, there were a set of protocols – a certain amount of inventory – so we weren't running with full ships.

As the world normalises, I am optimistic that, once we get data for 2023 and 2024, the cruise industry will surpass previous highs of 2.1 million. And of course, the other thing is all the fantastic ships coming into service so the future looks bright.

The other interesting thing that came out from the survey was that 2022 was very much dominated by Europe – I suspect because people wanted to play it a bit safer and sail closer to home. Plus the airlines weren’t really back with a full transatlantic schedule so that kept people closer to home too.

We also saw a bit of a surge in northern Europe versus previous numbers –and obviously a little bit of a drop on Caribbean/rest of the world numbers.

In addition, there was a growth in multi-generational travel within the cruise sector –
partly because families were looking to get together and spend time together after Covid but also because that group of people realise what fantastic value a cruise can be.

There is, as Andy will always tell you, a cruise for everyone. However there is also a cruise-within-a-cruise as multi-generational families are finding – they can explore destinations, see different shows, take advantage of the different activities onboard, and then come together for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. However they want to play their trip, it’s just a great environment.

Andy Harmer: We are pleased with the results. What we have been saying for a couple of years has now been confirmed by the data. I have always said that there is a cruise for everyone and I think that the diversity of customers is now coming to the fore.

The awareness of cruising has really increased over the past few years in a positive way – the propensity of people trying their first cruise has reached record levels and I think some of that is down to great work from the cruise industry in terms of return to service, new ships investment, etc.

But also some of that is down to the travel agents who continued to support cruise during the pandemic and continued to learn about cruise and used the pandemic to keep up to speed with the trends and experiences available. Some of this is now paying off.

We are hugely grateful to agents who talk about cruise to customers who walk in and may not have asked for a cruise. We know they are the reason we reached 1.7 million last year and the reason why the number will continue to grow over the next few years.

From an agents’ perspective, there has never been a better time to sell a cruise. The cruise industry never stands still – there really is something that can excite every customer.

We know the quality is great; the choice of experiences is great; the service onboard is excellent. And there is value for money at a time when value for money is really, really important which stands cruise in good stead.

Did the survey throw up any surprises?
BB: There was nothing I wasn’t expecting to see but I am definitely excited to see the growth in people who hadn’t previously considered a cruise considering a cruise

For a long time, there was a lot of work done but it always felt like we were mining a small community that already knew about cruise. It was almost like a secret – people who cruised didn’t tell anyone else.

It was so good they kept doing it but didn’t really shout about it. So the challenge has been getting people who don’t understand cruise to understand cruise.

Now, there is an awareness of cruise thanks to the huge credibility we built during the pandemic with the government and consumer.

Added to this, we have just seen a wave period where cruise lines spent more on above-the-line marketing than ever spent before – cruise is way out punching other parts of the travel sector. The cruise industry isn’t just talking the talk, they are walking the walk.

AH: I am not sure about surprises but what I am least surprised about is how important Europe is as a cruise holiday destination. Brits have a longstanding love affair on a cruise basis with the Mediterranean because it’s close – you can hop on a short flight or sail out of a UK cruise port – and the choice of ports is incredible with so many different experiences on offer.

But actually, northern Europe is also now coming into its own. There’s been an appreciation in many different places of the value that cruising brings to destinations, particularly after the pandemic.

And the cruise industry reacted to this by putting some incredible ships in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, what initiatives and activities does CLIA have planned?
AH: There will be a few announcements in a couple of weeks when we have our main conference but one thing that is great about CLIA is that we have lots of people feeding in opinions, ideas, and suggestions.

Increasingly we will look at showcasing destinations and different segments within cruise – that’s a way of talking to a different customer and a different travel agent or travel professional.

Furthermore, we recognise hybrid is the way forward but we will also continue to stage in-person events – from intimate ones of around 25 people to our flagship ones of around 750 people – to cater to everyone.

BB: We will continue to protect the industry and build relationships developed during the pandemic with the government. It would be a travesty not to continue to build momentum having made such a material change during the pandemic.

And, of course, while the pandemic is hopefully behind us we now have the journey to carbon neutrality by 2050.