Two Million Cruise Holiday Passengers By 2012

By 2012 it is expected that the number of cruise passengers in the UK will reach two million. According to The Cruise Report 2008, the growth will be so substantial that the number of people taking cruise holidays will have doubled by within those eight years. Impressive considering that it has taken nearly 50 years for the number to even hit the 1 million mark.

The report was compiled by Carnival UK, which is made up of a number of cruise holiday brands including P&O cruises Ocean Village, Cunard, The Yachts of Seabourn and Princess Cruises. The prediction is based on estimates by the UK Passenger Shipping Association that 1.35 million cruises were booked by residents in the UK during 2007, whilst a 15% rise to 1.55 million is predicted for 2008. For the cruise holiday industry as a whole, growth in UK passenger number during 2007 was at 12%. Although Carnival Cruises itself recorded an 11% increase in UK passenger last year which helped them to maintain their market share of around 40%. 

Carnival UK chief executive David Dingle said: “We can be ever more confident that he UK cruise market will reach two million passengers by 2012 at the latest.”

The expected growth is attributed mainly to cruise ship capacity increases. David Dingle added that the main challenges for the cruise holiday industry were recruiting and retaining qualified officers and crew for their fleets whilst also complying with environmental requirements.