More Australians are opting for luxury cruising according Cunard, who revealed Australian passenger bookings for 2015 have surged by more than 40%.
The growth is attributed to the growing popularity of its world voyages and its new Mediterranean fly-cruise program, Cunard International development director, David Rousham said.
Australia now sits as the third largest source market for Cunard, following the UK and US, with a large portion of those Australians being first-time cruisers. Demand for world cruises with Australian’s is particularly strong, ranking as the second largest source market for Cunard at 28% representation
Speaking at the World’s Leading Cruise Lines Summit over the weekend, Rousham said 61% of Australian guests who booked on the line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 in 2014 were newcomers to the brand. Meanwhile 39% of Australians on Queen Victoria had been first-time Cunard customers, and onboard Queen Elizabeth this year, newcomers have accounted for 43% of Australian guests.
Rousham attributed the growing popularity of Cunard to the increased presence in the Australia since Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 made a joint appearance on Sydney Harbour in 2007.
The debut of fly-cruises in the Mediterranean on Queen Elizabeth this year has also boosted booking numbers, with the numbers of Australians nearly tripled compared to 2013.
Rousham told delegates while the world voyages naturally appeal to an older demographic due to their flexibility to take a longer holiday and enjoy indulging in the Cunard experience, the cruise line was also welcoming younger Australian guests onboard when its ships were in local waters.
“We’ve found that the proportion of guests aged between 19 and 50 years has more than doubled on the Australian coastal sectors of those voyages,” Rousham added.
Maybe it’s the fact Cunard has relaxed its dress code and dropped the compulsory tie, attracting a younger demographic as a result.
