The International Cruise Council of Australasia has just released figures showing that the number of Australians who took a cruise last year was 263,435, more than ever before.
160,947 of these took cruises around Australia and New Zealand whilst 23,900 took Asia cruises. Those who cruised Europe and Canada/Alaska amounted to about 42,000 with this figure being equally split.
Richard Cranmer, the chairman of the council, confirmed that these figures represented a rise in cruise passengers for the fifth consecutive year since records began in 2002.
Interestingly those Australians taking an Ocean cruise amounted to over 250,000
whereas more than 10,000 took a long-haul trip to experience a European river cruise.
The overall figure represents a 14% growth in the number of Australians taking a cruise compared to the record 11% growth in the UK market and the 4.6% in the U.S. Market.