Cruise boom 2025: record numbers and new trends for explorers!

Cruise boom 2025: record numbers and new trends for explorers!

The cruise industry recorded a new record in 2025, with a forecast number of guests of 37.7 million, which corresponds to an increase compared to 34.6 million in the previous year. This emerges from the latest report by the Cruise Lines International Association (Clia), which was published as part of the "State of the Cruise Industry Report". The industry continues to grow dynamically and shows hardly any signs of cooling.

Europe remains the second most important market for cruises, directly to the USA. Germany, Great Britain and Italy in particular lead the ranking of the source markets, with Europe a total of 2.2 % recording the source market passengers. In 2023, the cruise industry achieved an economic footprint of $ 168.6 billion worldwide, of which 55 billion euros were generated in Europe, which secured 440,000 jobs.

economic effects and sustainability

The influence of the cruise industry is enormous, especially on the local economy of travel destinations. Around 69 % of cruise guests spend the night in a hotel before or after their trip, which creates additional income for the hotels and tourist providers. In the past two years, a third of the guests have undertaken a cruise for the first time, with 89 % of all past guests consider to travel again.

The industry actively campaigns for a low -emission future. 61 % of the ships are already in land electricity, and this proportion is to increase to 72 % by 2028. The ambitious goal is confirmed by the ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, whereby technologies and sustainable practices are used.

trends and travel behavior

The millennials are particularly popular and appreciate the flexibility and diversity that cruises offer. In the context of the current studies, it turns out that 82 % of the cruise participants plan to cross again. On average, the age of the cross travelers is 46 years, with 36 % under 40 years old. In addition, 12 % of the participants travel twice a year and 10 % three times to five times a year.

• most popular travel destinations: Caribbean, Mediterranean, west coast of North America, South America, Alaska.
• growth of expedition cruises by 71 % from 2019 to 2023.
• 27 % of the travelers of the past two years are new to cruises.

Overall, the cruise industry has shown steady growth in the past 50 years, although it only makes up 2 % of the total travel and tourism sector. The predictions indicate that the capacity will increase by 10 % between 2024 and 2028, with almost 40 million passengers by 2027. For the near future, seven new cruise ships are also planned to be introduced in 2024.

The comprehensive data of the CLIA report illustrate the robust relaxation and the positive growth of the cruise industry. Together with the economic effects and the increasing importance of sustainability, the signs stand well for the further development of this sector. The complete reports are on the websites of Hansa online and Cruising Journal Available.