Europeans Now Account for 30% of the World’s Cruise Passengers

The European cruise industry continues to increase its share of the global cruise market despite facing an unprecedented period of difficulty for the world economy. Figures, released today by the European Cruise Council (ECC) at their annual conference in Brussels, show that passengers made 23.8 million visits to European ports in 2009, an increase of more than 9% over 2008, with 4.9 million European residents booking a cruise holiday last year, a rise of 50% in five years, and representing nearly 30% of the world’s cruise passengers.