U.S. Cruise Industry Releases NATIONAL ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT on August 31

ICCL’s newest economic study, released at the end of August, provides a unique overview of the cruise industry and its dramatic impact on the US economy. The study showed that the cruise industry, despite a challenging 2005, continued to show growth (7.9%) and contributed an estimated $32.4 billion in total expenditures to the U.S. economy. Direct expenditures increased by 10 percent to about $16 billion and beyond this, the industry helped to create over 330,000 jobs paying $13.5 billion to American wage earners.

According to ICCL, last year’s cruise market continued to grow, although at a more moderate rate of expansion. The demand for cruising increased by 6 percent over 2004, with U.S. passengers accounting for almost 80% of all global berths. Better than 100 percent occupancy rates were recorded. The size of the cruise ship fleet remained unchanged at 192 vessels. Several newbuilds replaced other tonnage which had been withdrawn from service.

With about 75 percent of all worldwide cruise embarkations occurring from U.S. ports of call, the impact of ICCL cruise ships on the U.S. economy is clear. ICCL reports that “On average, a 2,000 passenger ship with 950 crewmembers generates approximately $258,000 in onshore spending in a U.S. homeport city (where passengers embark on their cruise). The average passenger spends approximately $105 per homeport and U.S. port-of-call visit.” About 56% of U.S. embarkations take place from Florida ports and ICCL reported that Jacksonville had increased its passenger traffic by over 30 percent from the previous year. Smaller homeports report similar gains and New Orleans, despite the problems caused by hurricane Katrina, still ranked among the top ten American cruise ports in 2005.

The ICCL report also provides individual state economic impact figures for every state, although 77 percent of that economic impact is concentrated in ten states. Cruise line domestic expenditures in 2005 included air transportation, food and beverages, ship maintenance and refurbishment, engineering and travel agent commissions. Without a doubt, the cruise industry’s total economic impact impacts almost every industry in the United States.

The ICCL represents the interests of 16 passenger cruise lines that call at major U.S. and international ports. ICCL members include: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruise Lines N.V., Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, NCL America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn Cruise Line, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises and Windstar Cruises. Together, these lines account for 90 percent of the North American passenger cruise line industry.

The report is now available on the ICCL Web site at http://www.iccl.org. Click the Resources link.