Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2006)

44 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

Cruise Report

Passenger Traffic Up 3.5

Percent in 2005

North American cruise passenger traffic increased by 3.5 percent in 2005, with more than 9.7 million passengers carried on 4,463 cruises by the 17 largest cruise lines, according to preliminary figures from the

U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd). Growth fig- ures were lower than in recent years, due in part to last year's hurricanes, but occupancy rates remained high, reaching nearly 110 percent. (Note: A double state- room with two passengers is considered 100 percent occupied. Since many double staterooms can accom- modate three or four people, occupancy can be more than 100 percent.)

Table 1: North American Cruise Statistics

Year Cruises Passengers Capacity Occup. Passenger Avg. % Nights Nights 2003 4,094 8,348,719 7,875,665 106.0 53,533,841 6.41 2004 4,465 9,418,317 8,724,434 108.0 61,627,535 6.54 2005 4,463 9,747,188 8,885,612 109.7 63,730,903 6.54

Table 4: North American Cruise Passengers,

New Orleans and Other Ports

Year Qtr. New Orleans Other Ports Total 2003 1 79,319 1,949,491 2,028,810 2003 2 41,848 1,970,230 2,012,078 2003 3 75,122 2,105,903 2,181,025 2003 4 100,465 2,026,341 2,126,806

Annual 296,754 8,051,965 8,348,719 2004 1 114,966 2,190,160 2,305,126 2004 2 86,692 2,230,697 2,317,389 2004 3 77,096 2,359,974 2,437,070 2004 4 117,067 2,241,665 2,358,732

Annual 395,821 9,022,496 9,418,317 2005 1 142,589 2,402,254 2,544,843 2005 2 107,947 2,302,535 2,410,482 2005 3 57,858 2,365,638 2,423,496 2005 4 0 2,368,367 2,368,367

Annual 308,394 9,438,794 9,747,188

Ports that escaped hurricane damage last year showed the most dramatic growth in 2005: Los

Angeles departures rose 41.5 percent; Honolulu grew 37.9 percent; and Jacksonville increased 20.5 percent.

Even Galveston, TX, which was temporarily closed due to Hurricane Rita, showed 22.5 percent growth during 2005. New Orleans had been showing strong growth in the first two quarters, with departures up 23.7 percent over the same period in 2004, but after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans experienced a 22.2 percent decline for the year.

The North American Cruise line market is highly concentrated, with the five largest lines accounting for 84.9 percent of the passenger-nights in 2005 (Table 2), up slightly from 83.9 percent in 2003. Over the last three years, each of these lines has registered growth in passenger-nights over the last 3 years. In addition, average cruise length has grown slightly over the past three years, from 6.4 to 6.5 nights.

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