Nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed said their overall awareness of cruising had improved within the last two years. Thirty percent said their awareness of cruises and ship-based excursions 'increased greatly' during the last four months alone, compared to a year or two ago.
In terms of perception, the overwhelming majority of travelers in the study have a positive attitude toward cruising. Only 6% expressed an unfavorable attitude, down from 11% four months ago.
The findings are part of Cruise Lines International Association's 'Cruise Industry Consumer Outlook of 2017,' conducted in partnership with J.D. Power to gain insight into consumer travel behaviors and opinions. The research consisted of web-based surveys in August and December targeting 500 consumers who earn more than $50,000 annually and had taken a vacation within the past three years.
In other survey findings, the number of travelers who are interested in taking a cruise is up to 63%. According to the report, there's solid interest in both ocean cruising (50%) and river cruising (30%). More than half the respondents said they will or probably will take an ocean cruise, and soon. Eight of 10 people indicated they will embark a cruise in the next 12 months.
The outlook also found that travelers believe cruising is well worth the money with over half (67%) indicating cruising offers high value for the money, whereas 47% said the same for land-based vacations.
When it comes to embarkation points, travelers are willing to skip the flight in order to drive to ports. Six of 10 (66%) of those interested in cruising are aware of close-to-home port options and more than half are willing to drive up to 500 miles by car to a port.
CLIA intends to conduct the survey three times per year to establish industry trends.
'Each installment will help the industry, as well as cruise travel agents, continue to adapt business practices and offerings to coincide with the desires of travelers and propel the cruise industry forward,' CLIA president and ceo Cindy D’Aoust said.
The full CLIA infographic detailing the consumer outlook's findings is here.
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