Despite rough waters in 2020, two out of three cruisers are willing to cruise within a year and 58 percent of international vacationers who have never cruised are likely to do so in the next few years, says CLIA, prompting optimism over the state of cruising in the year(s) ahead from the world’s largest cruise industry trade organization.
The new research was revealed in the Cruise Lines International Association’s “2021 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook” report highlighting the industry’s global economic impact, trend forecasts, and the industry’s commitment to responsible tourism practices.
“For the cruise community, there is no denying that 2020 was not the year we anticipated. Still, the industry wasted no time adjusting course to address the challenges before us,” said Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of CLIA, who pointed to the “extraordinary steps that the cruise community took to develop and implement enhanced public health protocols” in the face of the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that docked the industry for much of the year.
Global economic impact
The report includes the 2019 Global Economic Impact Analysis, which underscores the massive growth of the cruise industry and corresponding contributions to the international economy prior to the global health emergency. In 2019, CLIA says cruising sustained 1,166,000 jobs equaling US$50.53 billion in wages and salaries and $154.5 billion total output worldwide. The analysis also found:
• Passenger port city spending – Passengers spent US$385 in port cities before boarding a cruise and spend $100 in each visiting port destination during a cruise.
• Global passengers – The cruise industry hosted a total of 29.7 million passengers worldwide in 2019. North America accounts for the highest rate of cruisers with 15.4 million passengers cruising in 2019.
• Jobs impact from Covid-19 suspension – In 2020, every 1% loss of cruisers resulted in a reduction of 9,100 industry-related jobs. Each day of the suspension caused direct and indirect industry losses of 2,500 jobs.
Fleet of the future
CLIA cruise lines anticipate debuting 19 new ocean ships in 2021, resulting in a total of 270 CLIA cruise line ocean ships projected to be in operation by the end of 2021. Looking ahead, this “fleet of the future” will feature enhanced health and safety cruise protocols for the resumption of passenger operations designed to help protect passengers, crew, and destinations.
CLIA also reports:
• Successful sailings – From early July through mid-December 2020, there were more than 200 sailings with multiple layers of enhanced safety measures in place.
• New cruise protocols – Some of the new protocols include crew and passenger COVID-19 testing prior to embarkation, mask wearing, physical distancing, air management and ventilation strategies as well as enhanced medical capabilities.
Responsible Tourism
CLIA says the cruise industry also remained focused on its commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable future with the report highlighting the industry’s US$23.5 billion investment in ships with new technologies and cleaner fuels to reduce carbon emissions, partnerships with local governments in key destinations, and a commitment to reducing its rate of carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2008. The report highlights the progress the cruise industry is making in the adoption of new environmental technologies:
• Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) – 49% of new-build capacity on order will rely on LNG fuel for primary propulsion.
• Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (ECGS) – More than 69% of global capacity currently utilizes EGCS, while 96% of non-LNG new-builds will have EGCS.
• Advanced wastewater treatment systems – 99% of new ships on order will have these systems in place, bringing global capacity served by these systems to 78.5%.
• Shore-side electricity – 58% of new build capacity is committed SSE compatibility with 32% of global fleet capacity already capable of SSE and 25% of existing capacity will be retrofitted to use SSE.
“2020 was a year unlike any other and I am proud of how our industry has united together to weather this unparalleled pandemic,” said CLIA chairman Adam Goldstein.