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'Cruising is for old people', but actually 1 in 19 Aussies do it

"Cruising is for old people" - that's one of the more ignorant statements a person could ever make in the presence of an avid cruiser but now cruise fanatics have the ultimate and most factual comeback...

“Cruising is for old people” – that’s one of the more ignorant statements a person could ever make in the presence of an avid cruiser but now cruise fanatics have the ultimate and most factual comeback…

“Na man, one in 19 Australians do it every year.”

BOOM!

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‘Tis true my ocean lovers, the stats are here and they say cruising has penetrated 5.3 percent of the Australian market, the highest rate globally, with some 1.28 million Aussies taking a cruise in 2016, up 21 percent on 2015.

According to the latest Cruise Lines International Association (bloody hell that’s a mouthful, let’s just call ’em CLIA) Australasia Cruise Industry Source Market report, Australia is now the fifth largest source market in the world for ocean cruising and it’s all thanks to cruise lines sending new ships to the country and adding more room capacity – you know, like Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star.

In total, Australians spent 12 million days at sea last year and booked an average ocean cruise length of 9.4 days.

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As per usual, domestic, Tasman and South Pacific itineraries were among the more common choices among Aussies, as were cruise options in Alaska, which spiked in popularity by 25.5 percent over the 12 months.

It wasn’t such good news for usual favourites such as Europe and Asia, which experienced a decline in Australians guests by  11.8 percent and 10.1 percent.

“The current growth of the Australian Market, and the fact it surpasses more established markets, is a reflection that Australians are increasingly embracing cruise as a preferred holiday.”

Joel Katz, CLIA Australasia Managing Director

“Resolving the lack of berthing space in Sydney Harbour is an absolute priority to ensure the continued growth of cruise tourism in Australia.”

Did you go cruising in 2016?