MARAD 11-04
Contact: Wes Irvin,
Tel: (202) 366-5807
Monday, July 12, 2004
Cruise Passenger Travel Grows 13.6 Percent
Reflecting a rise in the popularity of passengers departing from ports closer to
their homes, cruise lines carried 2.3 million passengers on North American
cruises in the first quarter of 2004, the Maritime Administration (MARAD)
reported today. The figures reflect a 13.6 percent increase compared to the same
period in 2003.
The majority of cruises are still destined for the Caribbean and the Bahamas.
However, there has been important growth in new and emerging "drive market"
ports -- departure ports closer to home. For example, last year, during the
first quarter, four ports -- New York, Jacksonville, Houston, and Norfolk –
offered no departures. Now, these cities are currently among the top 15
departure ports in the nation. Other ports posting impressive gains are
Charleston with 54 percent, New Orleans with 46 percent, Galveston with 31
percent, and San Diego with a nearly 200 percent increase.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, commenting on the figures,
said, “Cruise lines have continued investing in new cruise ships and with the
economic recovery, Americans are taking advantage of expanded cruise offerings
that depart closer to home.”
While Miami remained the number one departure port in the first quarter of 2004,
its passenger traffic declined 15 percent from last year, and its market share
fell from 30 to 22 percent, in part, because more departure traffic is going
through other ports. Los Angeles overtook Tampa for the Number 5 ranking.
According to the International Council of Cruise Lines' most recent economic
impact study, the North American Cruise Industry contributed a total economic
benefit to the U.S. economy of $20.4 billion in 2002. Direct spending of the
cruise lines and passengers on U.S. goods and services was $12 billion and those
expenditures generated nearly 280,000 jobs in the U.S. economy.
Maritime Administrator Captain William G. Schubert noted the good news the
nation’s economy, saying, “The growth in the number of departure ports provides
cruise passengers with more choices and ensures that this industry’s economic
benefits are felt more widely throughout the country.”
The figures on cruise passenger travel are part of a statistical series issued
quarterly by MARAD on U.S. cruise passenger traffic, with data for 17 cruise
lines serving the United States. Inquiries regarding the data should be made to
the U.S. Maritime Administration, Office of Statistical & Economic Analysis, 400
Seventh Street, SW, Room 8107, Washington, DC, 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2267,
Fax: (202) 366-8886, E-mail:
data.marad@marad.dot.gov.
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