During 2012 the UK economy benefited from a £2.5 billion boost, thanks to the cruise industry.
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, and which is a major association for the cruise industry, dedicated to its promotion and growth, revealed the £2.5 billion bonanza from figures that it compiles on the world’s cruise companies. In addition to the financial contribution made by the industry in the UK, it has been revealed that it also supports 66,000 British jobs.
The impressive figure was not entirely made up of passenger revenue however, as the association also included money that cruise companies spent in the UK on staff salaries, the maintenance of vessels and in other administrative areas.
During 2012 the expenditure figure rose by 3.7 percent compared to 2011, while the industry’s employment figure increased by 3.5 percent year-on-year, to 66,059.
Southampton was declared the busiest cruise port in Europe for 2012, with in excess of 1.5 million holidaymakers using the port to either join or depart their cruise.
Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio , CLIA Europe chairman, said, ‘Despite the global economic crisis, the cruising industry continues to show steady growth. The number of people who choose a cruise holiday in Europe has more than doubled in the past decade to over 5.7 million; the sector attracted almost a million passengers from outside Europe.’
The cruise industry continues to grow in popularity with holidaymakers despite a number of high-profile accidents, breakdowns and on-board epidemics that have dogged its vessels in recent times.
