Relaxing: Cruising is appealing to more younger people (Picture: MSC)
A new ‘cruise generation’ prefers holidays afloat to all other forms of travel, claims new research.
Younger people, including so-called millennials, rate cruising far above land-based trips, all-inclusive resorts, tours, holiday home rentals and camping, according to the Cruise Travel Report by trade body Cruise Lines International Association (Clia).
Ninety per cent of people aged between 19 and 50 who have been on a sea or river holiday would do it again, says the study, based on a survey of 793 cruisers and 813 non-cruisers in the US and Canada who earned more than $50,000 (£40,000) a year.
The younger groups were defined as millennials, born between 1982 and 1998, and Generation X, born between 1967 and 1981. Among millennials, nearly half said the best type of holiday was a cruise.
‘While there is a wealth of findings in the Cruise Travel Report, one that stands out is that the cruise industry has been successful in engaging younger generations,’ said Clia president Cindy D’Aoust.
Among other findings were:
- Four in ten of both cruisers and non-cruisers go on holiday to see or do new things while a third want to relax. A high 88 per cent of cruisers say holidays afloat are better for total relaxation than land-based stays.
- Cruisers are younger on average than people who stick to land holidays. Nearly half of families who go on ships take their children along, compared to under a third of land-based travellers. The typical cruise travel group has two children.
- Most cruisers and non-cruisers say destination is the most important factor, followed by cost and value.
- Families are more likely to choose a cruise if children are involved in the decision.
- Four out of five cruisers use a travel agent, compared to only two in five non-cruisers.
The main reason given for not going on cruises was the cost but a quarter of non-cruisers were worried about their safety, security or health.
You can read the full report here