Cruise Lines, Passengers & Crew Spent a Record $21.69 Billion in 2016, Up 15 Percent Since 2011

Cruise lines, their passengers and crew spent a record $21.69 billion in the U.S. in 2016, a 15 percent increase since 2011 and representing a new peak in U.S. cruise industry expenditures, according to a new study from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world’s largest cruise industry trade association.

CLIA’s 2016 Economic Impact Analysis, an independent study commissioned by CLIA and conducted by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA), shows that total contributions[1] of the global cruise industry to the U.S. economy reached a record $47.76 billion in 2016, up 3.6 percent from 2014. This includes generating 389,432 U.S. jobs paying more than $20.5 billion in wages and salaries.

“The global cruise industry is a critical contributor to the U.S. economy and we see clear evidence of the industry’s positive impact across the country,” said Cindy D’Aoust, president and CEO, CLIA. “We saw cruise lines purchasing goods or services in support of their operations, and passengers traveling for their cruise vacations. The cruise industry continues to prosper and set economic records, and that’s good news for cruise lines, cruise employees, suppliers and passengers.”

Record U.S. Embarkations
According to CLIA’s study, 11.66 million cruise passengers worldwide embarked from U.S. ports in 2016, setting a new high and growing 5.4 percent since 2014.

The top ten U.S. cruise ports[2] accounted for 87.2 percent of 2016 embarkations, and Florida—whose ports handled 7.08 million embarkations—accounted for nearly 61 percent of all U.S. cruise embarkations. Embarkations from California’s ports (Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco) increased 5.5 percent since 2014 to 1.06 million, with an increased number of embarkations from Long Beach accounting for 57 percent of California’s total growth.

“While Florida remains the center of cruising in the United States, we continue to see steady growth in all four of California’s ports,” said D’Aoust. “Long Beach had an incredible impact on California’s growth, and we can only expect that to continue as cruise lines complete new terminal expansions and extend long-term leases.

About the CLIA 2016 Economic Impact Analysis
The CLIA 2016 Economic Impact Analysis is an independent study conducted by BREA and commissioned by CLIA. Spending estimates were compiled based on surveys of cruise lines, passengers and crew. Economic impacts of cruise lines, passengers and crew spending were generated using generally accepted input/output methodology.

[1] Total economic contributions include direct, indirect and induced impacts. This includes direct spending by cruise lines and passengers, including food and beverages, fuel, financial and business services and entertainment in support of cruise operations, as well as the goods and services purchased by the directly impacted businesses and employees from other B2B and B2C enterprises.
[2] Miami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Galveston, Long Beach, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, Tampa, Los Angeles