According to a new economic impact study commissioned by Cruise
Lines International Association (CLIA), a record 14.8 million people
cruised in 2010, including just over 10 million Americans. That's
10.3% more than the number that cruised in 2009, the largest
single-year jump since 2003.
The study, released last week, also indicated that 329,943 jobs were
generated by the North American cruise industry in 2010,
contributing $15.2 billion in wages. The cruise industry’s total
economic impact in the U.S. in 2010 amounted to $37.85 billion of
gross output, 7.8% more than in 2009.
The primary sources of the economic benefits are:
+
spending by cruise passengers and crew;
+
cruise line shoreside staffing for headquarters, marketing and tour
operations;
+
cruise line spending for goods and services necessary for cruise
operations;
+
cruise line spending for port services;
+
cruise line spending at U.S. shipyards for ship maintenance and
repairs.
CLIA’s Chairman Howard Frank said, “These job numbers are good news
given the challenging economy. We are pleased with the strong gains
in the cruise industry’s economic contributions, and that CLIA-member
lines were directly or indirectly responsible for putting nearly
330,000 Americans to work.”
