Source: data adapted from Cruise Market Watch. Cruise port visits
based upon the published itineraries of about 85% of the global
cruise shipping capacity.
(Detailed PDF Map)The Global Cruise Port SystemThe global cruise port system is characterized by a high level of
regional concentration as well as a clustering of port visits. The
observed destination patterns are clearly underlining the prominence
of port visits around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean in line
with the operational characteristics of 7 days cruises calling 3 to
5 ports. Other clusters of significant activity concern the US
Northeast and Atlantic Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Hanseatic ports and
the coast of Norway. Limited cruise activity takes place in in East
and Southeast Asia in spite of the significant economic development
processes that occurred in the region in recent decades. Therefore,
the geography of cruise and commercial ports is completely different
in terms of the dominant ports and the regions being serviced. It is
also indicative that new cruising clusters may emerge to serve a
latent demand from a growing middle and upper class in Asia, the
Middle East and South America.
