By
Rebecca Gibson |
A record 66,152 New Zealanders took an ocean cruise and spent almost 680,000 days at sea in 2015, according to a new report from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia.
CLIA’s annual New Zealand Cruise Industry Source Market Report indicated that New Zealand’s ocean passenger source market has increased almost 65% over the past five years and 10% since 2014, making the country one of the world’s top performing markets. In fact, New Zealand was one of only three international cruise passenger markets to record a double-digit increase last year, beaten only by Australia and China (up 52%).
Cruises in New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific continued to account for the majority (54%) of cruise passengers, with last year’s strong growth led by an increase in New Zealanders cruising in Australia and Asia, a rise of 71% and 64% respectively.
The equivalent of 1.4% of the population took a cruise last year, ranking New Zealand sixth in the world for market penetration ahead of established cruise nations, such as Italy (1.3%), Spain (1%) and France (0.9%).
“New Zealand is still an emerging source market but after another year of solid growth, which saw the nation outperform most key markets, it’s clear that cruising is growing in popularity,” said Steve Odell, CLIA Australasia chairman. “These figures show us that New Zealanders are increasingly recognising cruising as a great value and relaxing way to travel, not only in their backyard but also as part of an overseas trip.”