Key Factors Driving the Demand for Cruising and Challenges Facing the Cruise Industry in the Future

Cruises were the fastest growing sector in the travel industry. The rapid growth in demand was created originally by demand from North America, more recently Europe, and finally the rest of the world, China and Australia in particular. One of the main reasons for the rapid development and growth in popularity of cruises is that the cruise lines were successfully adapting to new travel trends delivering cruise ships with facilities and experiences tailored to the needs of travellers from all market segments. The corona crisis hit the cruise industry heavily and disrupted all plans, schedules and forecasts. This paper aims to analyze which factors were driving the demand for cruising on the world's leading source markets and the challenges facing the industry in a post-pandemic world. The findings show that the rapid growth in demand of cruise tourism was due to several factors, including the long-term growth in consumers’ disposable income, the adaptation of products to the requirements of new source markets and different market segments, more cruise capacity in new regions, and the development of national cruise brands.