The pandemic saw global numbers of ocean cruise passengers fall from 29.7 million in 2019 to 4.8 million in 2021. But by the end of 2023, passenger volumes had seen a full recovery and even surpassed 2019 levels with 31.7 million passengers, according to a report by the Cruise Lines International Association.
The following chart uses data from Statista’s Consumer Insights survey to show the share of people in different countries that booked a cruise ship in the past 12 months. Of the polled countries, cruises were most popular with Finnish respondents, with around three in ten people having booked a trip. Cruise ships were slightly less popular among residents of neighboring Sweden and Norway, with 14 percent and 8 percent of respondents saying they had booked a cruise, respectively. This form of vacation saw very little interest from polled countries in the south of Europe, such as Italy (6 percent), France (5 percent) and Spain (6 percent).
The industry’s return isn’t welcomed by all. After experiencing cruise ship-free streets during the pandemic, several cities have rethought their policies in order to mitigate the impacts of overtourism. Barcelona is now looking to double its municipal fees for certain cruise passengers.
Read more about the environmental impacts of cruise ships here.
