By
Adam Lawrence |
More British tourists are taking European river cruise holidays than ever before, according to figures from the Passenger Shipping Association.
The UK market for European river cruises increased by seven per cent in 2011 to 80,000 passengers, while the number of British passengers choosing a combined cruise along both the Rhine and Danube doubled, according to PSA. The French rivers of the Rhone and Seine saw a combined increase of 28 per cent.
Further afield, the Russian waterways saw an 11 per cent increase while the number of holidaymakers taking river journeys in Asia and China rose by six per cent.
Elsewhere in the world, more Brits are taking river cruises too: with the exception of the Nile, 2011 saw a five per cent increase in the number of UK passengers enjoying a river cruise. Political unrest in Egypt saw the number of Nile cruises taken by British passengers fall by 57 per cent to 25,000.
The average price paid for a river cruise in 2011 rose to £1,574 compared with £1,367 in 2011 with the total value of the UK river cruise market being approximately £179 million.
As European river cruises in particular continue to grow in popularity, PSA director Bill Gibbons said: “The appeal of a river journey has never been stronger. Passengers enjoy panoramic landscapes together with easy access to explore the heart of great cities and towns, and all while just unpacking once. 2012 will see the launch of 12 new river cruise vessels, a number which feature suites and balconies, together with some wonderful new itineraries.”