New data released by the Cruise Lines International
Association (CLIA) Sept. 15 show that the North American cruise industry
continued to expand in 2013, generating employment, income and other economic
benefits throughout the US economy.
“This study shows the cruise industry is an important
economic contributor, supporting businesses and jobs across America, from
travel agents who help their clients select from a diverse array of exciting
cruise choices, to the businesses in every state that provide products and
services to cruise lines,” CLIA President and CEO Christine Duffy said in a
statement announcing the findings.
Duffy noted that on a global basis, over the ten years from
2003 to 2013, demand for cruising worldwide increased 77 percent, from 12
million to 21.3 million passengers. Globally, cruise industry expenditures
generated $117 billion in total output, requiring 891,009 full-time equivalent
employees who earned $38.47 billion in income.
The report found that total contributions of the cruise
industry to the US economy in 2013 reached a record $44.1 billion and that the
cruise industry supported 363,133 US jobs, paying wages of $18.3 billion.
The study also found that nearly 10 million cruise
passengers embarked at US ports, representing 57 percent of the North American
cruise industry’s global embarkations; and that US-based direct spending by
cruise lines, passengers, and crew totaled $20.1 billion, nearly double
expenditures made in 2000.
Although California had more than 600,000 embarkations in
2013, Florida was the center of cruising in the United States, with its five
cruise ports accounting for nearly 62 percent of all US embarkations during the
year.
