The cruise industry, which makes up only a small part of the global tourism industry, has been the fastest growing segment of the global tourism industry since 1970--achieving more than 2,100 percent growth from 1970 to 2008, and almost 80 percent growth since 2000 alone.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which is composed of 24 of the major cruise lines serving North America and is the world’s largest cruise association, estimates that approximately 13.5 million people worldwide will take a cruise during 2009, an increase of 2.3% over 2008. The growth percentage represents a slowdown over the increase of 4.8% between 2007 and 2008, when worldwide 12.6 million and 13.2 million people, respectively, took a cruise.
These statistics are quite remarkable, given the fact that most segments of the travel market have experienced a contraction during this period of global economic crisis, and give us confidence that demand for cruising will continue to be strong.
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