Steady growth over the next 15 years will double the number of annual cruise passengers to 27 million by 2020, according to a new report. The report, "The World Cruise Shipp-ng Industry to 2020, A Detailed Appraisal of Prospects," projects cruise market and shipbuilding demand worldwide over the next 15 years. The author of the 240-page report is the U.K.'s Ocean Shipping Consultants Ltd. The OSC report estimates that 13.6 million passengers will cruise in 2005, climbing to 18 million in 2010, 22.6 million in 2015 and 27 million in 2020. North America is expected to account for about 64% of the total in 2020 and Europe about 26%. Over the next five years, OSC estimates an annual cruise passenger growth rate of 5.75% per year until 2010, a little over 4.5% per year in the first half of the next decade, and around 3.75% until 2020.
展开▼
