Research from Expedia Group, in collaboration with Environics Analytics, has found that there is a 25% month-over-month increase in cruise search demand since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set the expiration of its Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) for January 2022.
The demographic specifically mentioned is so-called “early adopters,” or travelers who have booked trips after March 1, 2021, that leave between July 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. The majority of these “early adopters” are upper-middle income Americans aged 65 or older.
“We’re very pleased to see the increased desire for cruises post-pandemic,” said Matthew Eichhorst, president of Expedia Cruises and global cruise leader at Expedia Group.
“Travelers are eager to sail again as, too, are our cruise partners,” he said. “We can see that warm destinations are topping the list once again as people look to relax and recharge after a challenging two years. These insights will be critical in helping our cruise partners assess demand and ensure the necessary processes are in place to continue to provide the safe and stellar services cruise travelers expect in today’s evolved landscape.”
Travelers are eager to sail again as, too, are our cruise partners.
Among said U.S.-based web searches are the following rankings, by destination: the Caribbean (30%), the Bahamas (15%), Mexico (10%) and Europe (5%).
What’s more, Expedia shows that over half of web searches were previously for trips scheduled out two months or more, but now, since the latest CSO announcement, 60% are searching for sailings within two months.
This is somewhat contrary to survey results gathered by Cruise Critic, which cites some concern for the Delta variant of COVID-19 pushing interest further into the future. Of the more than 5,000 respondents polled by the consumer website, 19% said they are booking further out, while under 6% indicated they are looking to cruise as soon as possible.
However, as it pertains to the latest Omicron variant, Cruise Planners is seeing no downturn in sales. The American Express Travel Representative and home-based travel agent franchise network is instead witnessing increased bookings across its top three destinations: Alaska, the Caribbean and Europe.
"As we continue to monitor the Omicron variant, we are encouraged that preliminary studies suggest it is less dangerous than the Delta variant, and our purchase activity was not negatively impacted by the news," said Michelle Fee, founder and CEO of Cruise Planners. "In fact, last week's purchases were up 35% compared to the same week two years ago."
As we continue to monitor the Omicron variant, we are encouraged that preliminary studies suggest it is less dangerous than the Delta variant, and our purchase activity was not negatively impacted by the news.
The organization believes the company’s marketing and publication of its 2022 Vacation Planning Guide and direct mailers have contributed to sustaining the pent-up demand for cruise travel.
Specific to the aforementioned trio of destinations, European cruise reservations are up 26% compared to this season in 2019. However, it’s actually the Caribbean that is currently outselling Europe, and Alaska sales for 2022 voyages have doubled versus the same time in 2019.
Looking to 2023 and beyond, 10% of Cruise Planners’ bookings are for sailings two years out, and additional trends include luxury and world cruise reservations. Altogether, the franchise anticipates the demand will outpace the supply over the next two years.
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Cruise Planners
Expedia Group
