The sector is predicted to grow by 30% over the next four years as 28 ships come into service, delegates heard in London last week.
Alistair Pritchard, Deloitte UK’s lead partner for travel, said despite the capacity boost, demand for expedition cruising was outstripping supply.
“It’s actually quite challenging, but definitely an opportunity for the industry,” he said. “The capacity of all those new ships combined is not dissimilar to an MSC or Royal Caribbean mega ship – so there is plenty of room to grow.”
Pritchard outlined a number of factors around consumer spending trends in the UK to help demonstrate an abundance of consumers to target for expedition – including a 200% increase of people in the UK with wealth of more than $1 million in the last decade, and an expected 6.2% rise in luxury travel spending between 2015-2025.
Emphasising the lucrative potential for agents focusing on expedition, Silversea’s UK and Ireland managing director and chair of Clia’s expedition working group Peter Shanks revealed the line had secured two bookings in excess of £300,000 for its first expedition world cruise in 2021, which went on sale in February.
