Travel Agents Predict 2016 Cruise Growth

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released the Travel Agent Cruise Industry Outlook Report, revealing that North American travel agents expect to see notable growth in the number of cruises people take in 2016 as well as an increase in passenger spending

The report, which was conducted at the end of 2015, is the first in what will be a quarterly research study from CLIA, designed to forecast trends in the cruise industry among the travel agent community.

At the end of 2015, CLIA released its 2016 State of the Cruise Industry which projected another strong year with 24 million passengers expected to take a cruise in 2016, up from 23 million in 2015. Travel Agents agree with this outlook, as 83 percent expect their sales volume to increase in the coming year. The report also showed cruises are experiencing the greatest increase in booking in both ocean and river cruising when compared to other travel.

Of note, Travel Agents shared that more multi-generational families are embarking on cruises -- a trend that benefits the cruise industry long term as the cruise habit will become ingrained in younger consumers.

"As the cruise industry continues to grow, the travel agent community is invaluable in helping us understand the strength of the business and perceptions in the marketplace," said Cindy D'Aoust, Acting CEO, CLIA. "Our travel agent community is on the front-line with consumers which is why we felt it was important for us to create this quarterly Travel Agent Cruise Industry Outlook to aggregate and track their insights."