Cruise travel is steadily on the rise, with a projected 27.2 million passengers expected to sail in 2018 – an increase in demand of 20.5 percent in the last five years (from 2011), a new report by CLIA shows.

At the same time, CLIA has released a report on the economic impact of the cruise industry in 2016. Overall cruise industry expenditures generated £94 billion in output worldwide, supporting more than one million full-time employees – a £30 billion increase on the previous year.

Some of the key findings from its trends projections for 2018 showed:

• A third (33%) of cruisers in the past three years have a household income of less than £60,000.

• The next evolution of experiential travel sees travellers taking a step further and seeking ‘transformational’ experiences, including cultural immersion to extreme adventures.

• There will be a greater focus on sustainable tourism; from recycling to waste management as well as focus on ‘creating a positive environmental and social impact at destinations around the globe’.

• River and small ship cruising continues to gain traction with millennials.

• Skip-gen cruising, also known as multigenerational cruising is projected to increase in popularity, with more grandparents and grandchildren travelling together without their parents.

• More travellers are heading to chilly destinations, including the Baltics, Canada, Alaska, and Antarctica. And with an array of unique excursion options, from penguin watching to ice fishing.

• Travellers are seeking health and wellness trips more than ever before.

• Smart travel technology will become more intuitive this year. Several cruise lines are introducing wearable technology, including keychains to turn on lights as they approach their cabins.

• Travel agents continue to see a steady demand from consumers planning and executing vacations

Economic highlights from CLIA’s Contribution of the International Cruise Industry to the Global Economy in 2016, released last week, showed:

• Around 129 million onshore visits were made by passengers and crew helping generate $57.9 million in direct cruise sector expenditures at destinations and source markets around the globe.

• For the first time, the cruise industry required the employment of over 1 million, with these employees earning $441.1 billion.

• From 2006 to 2011, passengers from Europe increased by 79 per cent, those from the rest of the world, increased by 126 per cent.

• Europe has also experienced a strong growth over the last decade, with passengers sourced from here almost doubling over this timeframe. In 2006, Europe accounted for 23 per cent of the global cruise market with 3.4 million passengers. In 2016 this increased to 6.7million passengers – a 94 per cent growth. Despite this growth, Europe’s overall market share only increased to 27 per cent of the 2016 global market.

• As in 2015, Germany and the UK accounted for more than half of passengers, totalling a 59 per cent share. The UK experienced an increase of 5.6 per cent, Spain 4.2 per cent, though France and Italy saw declines of around 7 per cent

• An estimated 6.32 million passengers embarked on their cruises from European ports. Up from 6.12 million in 2015.

• The biggest growth in world markets was from China – which outpaced nearly all other source markets in the world with 113 per cent growth. From 986, 000 in 2015 to 2.1 million in 2016.