By
Rebecca Gibson |
Next year, 52 ships from 26 cruise brands will provide a total of 1,065 cruises in Asia for around 2.17 million guests, according to the newly formed Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) bodies in Southeast and North Asia.
The figures were released as part of the association’s Asia Cruise Trends Project: “Analysis, Assessment, Appreciation” report, which follows on from the 2013 Asia Cruise Association white paper Information, Intelligence, Insights . Conducted by CHART Management Consultants, the research aims to use data consolidated directly from cruise operators to provide the first ever analysis of the size of 12 Asian passenger source markets. It provides a comprehensive view of the cruise industry throughout Asia in 2015 and covers deployment and capacity trends since 2013. Detail on ports-of-call and destinations visited in all Asia destinations will be released soon.
“The cruise industry continues to grow rapidly in Asia and many cruise lines are deploying more capacity in the region, including some of the most modern cruise ships,” said Christine Duffy, CLIA’s president and CEO. “CLIA decided to undertake an analysis of hard data on the size of Asia cruise source markets – the first of its kind – because cruise lines and many cruise industry stakeholders are keen to better understand the trends, source market size and the potential for growth in this vibrant and exciting region.”
According to the research, there were 802 Asia-Asia cruises in 2013, which will increase to 981 in 2015, while passenger capacity has increased from 1.4 million to 2.05 million, an annual growth of 19.5%. In addition, another 115,360 guests may transit through Asia on longer voyages, up 25% per annum from the 73,616 capacity in 2013.
“The scale of cruising in Asia and its growth over these three short years is remarkable,” said Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia and chair of CLIA Southeast Asia. “Next year will see 26 cruise brands operate 52 ships in Asia, nine of which are year-round. The growth in capacity is even more impressive, driven by increasingly large and modern ships being deployed.”
Meanwhile, deployment days in East Asia and Southeast Asia have increased by 20.5% and 10% respectively per year. Deployment in South Asian destinations, which account for 6% of the total, has risen by 34% each year.
Next year, around 81% of the available cruise itineraries will last less than seven days, with operators offering a combined total of 425 two- to three-night cruises, 367 four- to six-night cruises, 162 voyages lasting between seven and 14 days, and 27 longer itineraries.
“It is insightful to see where the growth is occurring,” said Zinan Liu, chair of CLIA North Asia, adding that the capacity, deployment and growth by ship type has also been revealed for each of the 26 brands covered by the project.
Cruise activity has been separated according to brands and into four tiers. The research indicated that the three participating CLIA Member cruise lines in Tier 1 – Star Cruises, Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean –offer more than 100 sailings in 2015, accounting for about 25% of each of total passenger capacity in Asia. Meanwhile, participating CLIA Member cruise lines in Tier 2 – Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises – operate 25 or more voyages, while the eight brands in Tier 3 operate nine or more annually, and Tier 4 offer eight sailings or less.