The cruise industry remains a long way from maturity in terms of global market penetration. Even in its first and largest source market – North America – annual cruise sales still fall short of 4% of the population. However, in other key ways the industry has moved on to a different level – and not always entirely by choice. Some of this is a factor of its own decision to globalise its product, deployments and also its passenger sourcing in the same way as it has always taken the global approach to the sourcing of crew and hotel staff.

As a result, there is scarcely a natural, climatic or geopolitical event anywhere in the world that does not have an impact on a part of its operations. Similarly, quantum leaps in its operational costs – notably, but not exclusively, fuel – now threaten its business model. At the same time, its growth, although to a size still small in global industry terms, has brought it to the attention of regulators, legislators and tax-hungry politicians just about everywhere.

This report covers:

The recent and ongoing financial performances of the major companies and the likely trend in these moving forward in the light of the Costa Concordia impact and the financial troubles of the economies in major source markets

Individual initiatives by brands to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive arena by building new classes of ship and retro-fitting their most popular features as part of the staged revitalisation of their existing fleets

The prospects for expanding existing major source markets (North America, the UK and Continental Europe) and for developing emerging ones such as China, Brazil and South Africa

The importance of economic impact studies in influencing political and public opinion and in attracting financing for the cruise port infrastructure development required to service the increasingly large and sophisticated ships being deployed

The prospects for the small band of European specialist cruise shipbuilders (Fincantieri, Meyer Werft, STX Europe) as they see orderbooks reduced for the foreseeable future and the imminent threat from Asia shipbuilders such as Mitsubishi in Japan and new entrants from China and South Korea