Australia Recorded Over a Million Cruise Passengers in 2014

CLIA in a new study of the cruise market has revealed that the number of cruise passengers from Australia in 2014 has crossed the 1 million mark for the first time.

According to the study, cruise passengers grew by 20.4 percent in 2014 reaching a figure as huge as 1,003,256.

The CLIA 2014 Cruise Market Source Report for Australia also revealed that as a percentage of the population, Australia leads all other countries with a cruise penetration of 4.2 percent. The penetration in 2013 rose from 3.6 percent in 2013.

The South Pacific area emerged as the most popular cruise destination for Australia-sourced cruises. 39 percent of Australian cruise passengers visit this region.

Although 8-14 days remains the most popular cruise duration in Australia, the report noted a striking year-over-year increase in short cruises of four days or less, with 59 percent more passengers on such cruises in 2014.

Australia accounted for 4.5 percent of the 22.1 million global cruise passengers in 2014, and surpassed Italy to become the fourth-largest cruise market after North America, Germany and the U.K./Ireland, CLIA said.