Aussies set a record for cruise travel

The number of Australians taking cruise holidays has surged to 1.45 million, overtaking pre-pandemic levels and setting an all-time record in 2025.

The Cruise Lines International Association data released today is a 9.5 per cent increase on 2024 numbers, and higher than the 1.35 million Aussies who cruised in 2018.

The latest data cements Australia as one of the most enthusiastic cruise markets, remaining at No.4 in the world by number of passengers.

Other key findings from CLIA’s annual Source Market Report for 2025 include:

+ The average age of an Australian cruise passenger in 2025 fell to 47.3 years, down from 48.4 the previous year, continuing the long-term global trend of cruise lines attracting younger generations. More than a third of Australian cruisers (34.2 per cent) were aged under 40 in 2025.

+ A total of 1.16 million Australians cruised within Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, an increase of 8 per cent.

+ The most popular cruise region for Australians in 2025 was Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific (80.3 per cent), followed by the Mediterranean (6.3 per cent), Asia (4.5 per cent), Alaska (2.5 per cent), the Caribbean (1.7 per cent), Northern Europe (1.3 per cent), Hawaii and the US West Coast (0.7 per cent), and South America/Panama (0.4 per cent).

+ Australians taking expedition cruises was 0.8 per cent. Trans-Atlantic and world cruises reached 0.5 per cent.

+ A record 37.2 million people took an ocean cruise in 2025 globally, an increase of 7.5 per cent on the previous record of 34.6 million set in 2024.

CLIA executive director in Australasia Joel Katz says while the demand for cruising by Australians is encouraging, the local industry was losing cruise tourism to other countries.

“The number of Australians cruising is at record levels, and with around 80 new ships coming online worldwide over the next decade, this passion can only rise,” he said.

“However, Australia is struggling to attract ships to our own waters because of regulatory uncertainties and rising costs, so we are becoming uncompetitive as a destination and losing tourism to other countries.

“Cruising contributes $7.32 billion a year to the national economy and supports more than 22,000 Australian jobs, so it’s vital that we bring together Federal, State and Territory Governments under a national action plan so we can create greater regulatory certainty, restore Australia’s competitiveness, and attract more cruise tourism.”

Mr Katz’s comments reflect the 286,000 Aussies who cruised outside the local region in 2025, up 17 per cent from 2024.