Cruising is gaining steam across Asia, where demand for cruise holidays has driven up annual growth by 20 percent.
According to a new report by the Cruise Lines International Association for Asia, capacity in 2013 was 1.4 million guests for cruises within Asia. In 2015, that figure is expected to spike to 2.05 million, representing an annual growth of 19.5 percent.
For travelers, that means they’ll have more cruise ships and brands to choose from, as 26 brands will operate 52 cruises in Asia next year.
The most popular form of cruising in Asia is the short duration voyage, with trips under one week representing 81 percent of all holidays offered in 2015. Next year, nearly half of the 981 cruises set to sail next year (425) are two to three-night trips.
In a bid to accommodate growing demand for this emerging form of luxury travel, Hong Kong opened a $1.1 billion cruise terminal at the former site of an airport last year, in a bid to become Asia’s cruising hub.
Another report released in 2014 out of the World Travel Market in London predicted that China is poised to become the second largest global cruise market after the US by 2017 when an estimated 3.7 million Chinese travelers choose to spend their holidays on a cruise ship.
By 2020, that figure is expected to spike to more than 7 million.
And this year, industry leader Royal Caribbean signed a joint deal with Taiwan to build a shared pier on an island in the Taiwan Strait at a cost of $33.3 million.
Due for completion in 2016, the port is being built to accommodate the Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.
And finally, the newest ship from Royal Caribbean, Quantum of the Seas, will make Shanghai its home port next summer, a strategic move meant to expand their market within the coveted Asian market.
Source: Relaxnews