Madrid, November 7, 2018 – The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) publishes for the first time aggregated data corresponding to the figures of the outbound market, information that provides a differentiating value both to specialized travel agents and to the Spanish cruise market itself.
According to CLIA Spain, 175,000 Spaniards enjoyed a cruise as a vacation option during the first half of this year, representing an 8.4% increase compared to the first half of 2017.In the first quarter of 2018, 48,000 Spaniards enjoyed a cruise, 6% more than in the previous quarter, and 127,000 did so in the second quarter, a 9.3% increase over the previous period. Regarding cruise duration, Spaniards spent an average of 7.3 days on a cruise in the first half of 2018, compared to 7.7 days the previous year.
Cruises in the Western Mediterranean were the most popular in the first half of the year, chosen by 82,500 passengers, which is almost half (47%) of the total, followed by the Eastern Mediterranean with 24,200 passengers (24%), and a growth of 19%, the Caribbean/Bahamas, with 20,700 passengers and a decrease of 1.88%, Northern Europe with 15,700 passengers and an increase of 11.79% and the Canary Islands, where 13,000 passengers traveled, increasing by 83%.
According to data from CLIA Spain, the average age of Spanish cruise passengers is 48 years, compared to 47 years in the same period of the previous year, although it is expected that the age will decrease in the third quarter after the school holidays, the time of greatest incidence of children and young people on cruises.
According to Alfredo Serrano, National Director of CLIA Spain, while the data for the first half of 2018—less representative in terms of passengers than the second half—is not definitive, as it represents approximately one-third of the annual passenger traffic for the Spanish market, “the strong performance of the market in the first half suggests that the growth trend that began three years ago at CLIA Spain is continuing. We are confident that 2018 will end with a positive balance and passenger figures higher than those of 2017, when 510,000 Spanish passengers were recorded (CLIA European Market Report 2017).”
According to the national director of CLIA Spain, "publishing the quarterly report of the Spanish issuer's data for the first time provides valuable sectoral information, both for specialized agents and for the market in general."
“ Likewise,” Serrano indicated , “we at CLIA Spain want to thank the shipping companies for their contribution in providing this information and the satisfaction that the results of the Report bring to us – as the voice of the sector – which add to the data already provided by the State Ports for the first half of 2018 , which indicated that cruise passenger traffic grew by 23.5% during this period, exceeding 4.4 million passengers.”
