Cruising is more popular than ever. Figures from Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) 2026 State of the Cruise Industry Report indicate that 37.3 million passengers cruised in 2025, up from 34.6 million in 2024. Nearly 90 per cent of those who sailed in 2025 intend to do so again in future, and annual global passenger numbers are forecast to hit 42 million in 2029.
To keep pace with this growth, cruise operators are expanding their fleets. Today, CLIA has 327 vessels in its ocean-going fleet and there are a further 86 ships representing a $98 billion capital investment in the current order book.
As the number of ships increases, ports and destinations are facing increasing pressure to ensure they have the infrastructure and strategies in place to carefully manage cruise tourism. We ask CLIA president and CEO Bud Darr how its members are working with stakeholders across the industry to drive sustainable growth and manage tourism responsibly in the destinations they visit.
How is the global order book evolving?
We’re seeing more demand from multigenerational groups and younger guests, as well as consumers looking for adults-only products or niche options like expedition cruising. At the same time, established brands are expanding their fleets and new entrants are building their first vessels. This is driving growth across the entire spectrum of cruise ships, with brands ordering small, medium and large ships and evolving their designs substantially to keep pace with guest demand. Every time I go on a ship, I’m amazed by the number of new guest-facing innovations!
In addition, more cruise lines are investing in fuel-flexible ships as they continue to pursue decarbonisation to hit the industry’s net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050. Today, 28 of the 327 ocean-going cruise ships have dual-fuel engines, and we have another 47 in the current global order book.
With the global cruise fleet expanding, ports are facing growing pressure on infrastructure and concerns about visitor flow. How should CLIA and its member lines support destinations in managing tourism sustainably?
Destinations are still the top driver for consumers when they’re choosing whether to take a cruise, so it’s crucial we work with them to ensure they’re well-equipped and happy to welcome the growing number of ships. Our members take community concerns seriously and are very willing to find solutions, but we need the same commitment from the ports, destinations and policymakers.
Data is crucial in helping us to identify the real issues so we’re investing our efforts in the right area. For example, there’s increasing backlash against cruising in Barcelona, Spain, because locals believe our guests are flooding the city. However, when we studied this with a Spanish university, we found cruise guests account for just 2.5 per cent of the tourism loading in Barcelona on any given day. There were only 32 instances across one year where cruise tourism loading exceeded five per cent, but stayed under 7.5 per cent. With this data, we can now have a meaningful conversation to find an effective solution.
The benefit of cruise is that itineraries are planned at least two years in advance, so ports and destinations know when the ships are coming, how long they will stay, how many guests will be onboard, and what types of excursions they will likely want to do. This means they can prepare in advance and introduce measures to manage tourism flow. They can’t do this with independent travellers.
What steps can cruise lines and destination stakeholders take to alleviate community concerns and ensure ship calls have a positive impact for everyone?
Some particularly effective solutions we’ve seen ports and cruise lines develop to reduce overcrowding include planning calls during off-peak seasons, staggering ship arrival and departure times, arranging tours to popular attractions at quieter times and creating new shore excursions that take guests to lesser-known tourist sites or places far beyond the port. Not only does this give guests a unique experience, but it extends the economic benefits of a ship call to more people in the community.
It can also be beneficial for cruise lines to invite locals onboard their ships to showcase the solutions they’re using to protect the environment, or explain how ship calls generate a positive socioeconomic impact through port fees, crew and passenger spending, and job creation. We’ve seen many locals change their opinion on cruising after a ship visit. Similarly, we’ve seen guests being more accepted when cruise lines have educated them about local customs and appropriate dress or behaviour.
Can you share any examples of successful cruise line-port-city partnerships that are already improving destination stewardship and local sentiment towards cruising?
Two examples stand out. One is Madeira, where most of the population lives in the relatively small city of Funchal. That concentration could place pressure on visitor flows, but strong coordination among regional and port leaders, cruise lines, businesses and the local community has enabled Madeira to manage tourism successfully.
Dubrovnik in Croatia is another good example. We’ve spent several years working with Mayor Mato Franković to trial and implement solutions that manage congestion and visitor flows in the Old City. One is a tool to track visitor hotspots, so the destination and cruise lines can make better tourism management decisions. We’re looking to create more visitor experiences in areas near Dubrovnik too
How will CLIA’s new Cruise Ready programme help ports and destinations to grow tourism responsibly?
Our aim is to help ports and destinations who want to enter the cruise market, or grow their existing business, discover the best ways to invest their resources to maximise their chance of success. We’ve created written materials with insights and data from various experts and we’ll be hosting masterclasses – the first will be in Miami, Florida, later this year and we plan to expand them worldwide. We hope to make some good connections between the cruise lines and emerging destinations for their mutual benefit along the way.
What priorities will CLIA and its members focus on to drive the responsible growth of the cruise sector over the next few years?
The industry is very healthy and performing well above pre-pandemic levels. In 2025, we carried 37.3 million guests, generated $198.8 billion in economic output and supported 1.8 million jobs worldwide. CLIA’s priority is to help our members maintain a trajectory of meaningful but sustainable growth by working in cooperation with the ports and communities we visit to ensure we’re good corporate citizens and everyone benefits from the cruise industry. We’ll also continue investing in decarbonisation, help ports accelerate shore power deployment, work with energy providers to advance lower emissions fuels, and drive regulatory progress.
Discover more insights from passenger shipping industry leaders in the Autumn/Winter 2026 issue of Cruise & Ferry Review. To get content like this on a regular basis, subscribe to the print editions or free digital editions of our Cruise & Ferry publications.