NEW YORK/BENGALURU, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Next year will be prime for cruise travel, with travelers of all incomes and budget levels booking more trips than before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the United States. It looks like it’s going to be a year. Cruise companies and travel agencies.
Travelers are turning to cruises in 2024. Because cruises are still cheaper than land-based alternatives. Operators plan to increase rates in the coming months as occupancy rates approach pre-pandemic levels.
“The market overall is very strong, especially at the top end of the market when it comes to high-end luxury cruises,” said Bob Levinstein, CEO of Cruise Competition.
Trust Securities analyst Patrick Sholes says cruise bookings will still reach record levels in 2024, even as travelers cancel or postpone planned vacations to the Middle East. I predict that will happen.
Before the October 7 attacks in Israel, industry-wide 2024 bookings were about 25% higher than 2019 than 2020 bookings. Bookings for November 2024 were about 20% higher than the same period in 2019, Sholes said.
“Demand for 2024 continues to accelerate, with bookings consistently on par with 2019,” Royal Caribbean Group (RCL.N) CEO Jason Liberty said in an October earnings call. “This is significantly above the standard.”
Approximately 35.7 million passengers are expected to take cruises in 2024, up from 31.5 million in 2023, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). This is 6% more than the number of passengers who departed in 2019.
What’s the only thing holding you back from booking? Sufficient capacity to accommodate all demand. Carnival (CCL.N) Chief Executive Officer Josh Weinstein said in September that despite increasing production capacity by 5% starting in 2023, there is a possibility that there will be no inventory left to sell, so Carnival (CCL.N) will not be able to sell until 2024. said sales volume will decline.
Small businesses say they are overwhelmed. SeaDream Yacht Club, an Oslo-based private luxury cruise company, has very strong bookings for 2024 and 2025, with bookings already underway for fall 2026, according to CEO Atle Brynstad. He said he was starting to take reservations.
Kari Dillon, owner of Huntersville, North Carolina-based travel agency Marvelous Mouse Travels, which started planning Disney vacations, said demand in 2024 will increase in 2018. It said that the bookings for 2019 and 2019 were significantly higher.
“Travelers are taking advantage of short, four- to five-night itineraries departing from ports in Florida,” Dillon said. “With more people able to work remotely, it’s now easier to travel on short itineraries in the Caribbean.”
Travel agency InteleTravel has made fewer sailing reservations for 2024 than current bookings for 2019 for 2020, said Dave Spinelli, senior vice president of industry relations at host travel agency InteleTravel in Delray Beach, Florida. He also said that the number was about 70% higher.
Royal Caribbean told investors that two-thirds of its guests in the third quarter were either taking a cruise for the first time or traveling with Royal Caribbean for the first time. Liberty says its repeat reservations have doubled.
Online travel agencies are paying attention to the cruise boom. Booking Holdings (BKNG.O)’s largest brand, Booking.com, launched a cruise division in November to capture growing demand for cruises.
Ben Harrell, U.S. managing director at Booking.com, said: “Cruise ships have strong loyalty, and the data shows that the vast majority of people who have sailed on a cruise ship will cruise again, making it a prime market for continued growth. It’s a ship.”
Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bangalore and Doinsola Oladipo in New York.Editing: Margherita Choi
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