With the cost of taking a long-term caravan or motorhome trip around Australia is continuing to climb, an increasing number of adventure-seeking older travellers are taking to the high seas instead.
New data from Roy Morgan Research shows that the number of Australians taking cruise holidays has grown by almost 41% since 2011 … with the older demographic being the keenest to get on board.
Of the estimated 480,000 people who took a cruise holiday for their last long trip, the research indicates that 161,000 or 33.6% of them were aged 50–64, and 180,000 or 37.5% of them were aged over 65.
In fact, in the year to June 2014, more Australians stayed aboard a cruise ship on their last long holiday than in a campervan, B & B, caravan or youth hostel/backpackers. But will grey nomads continue to be persuaded to become blue nomads and swap the joy of the open road for life on the high seas?
Angela Smith, from Roy Morgan Research thinks they might.
“The over-50s market is booming!,” she said. “Over the past few years, there has been extremely healthy growth in the proportion of Australians aged 50-64 and over 65 taking cruise holidays … and this trend shows no sign of abating.”
Most people who took a long cruise holiday reported spending an average of 21 nights away Almost three-quarters of people (71.5%) whose last long trip was a cruise holidays went overseas. The South Pacific was the most popular regional destination for those who stayed aboard a cruise ship on their last long holiday, accounting for 19.1% of cruises taken; followed by Europe (including the UK) at 16.4%. Asia (12.6%) was the third most popular region..
So, what is the appeal of a cruise, other than its growing affordability?
“Our data indicates that people who took a cruise holiday in the last year are far more likely than average to enjoy holidays where everything is organised for them, but considerably less likely to enjoy doing as little as possible when on holiday,” said Angela Smith. “Knowing and understanding the preferences and behaviours of their target market gives savvy cruise operators an edge on their competition in this niche (but growing) sector of the tourism industry.”
We have traveled on a cruise and just returned from a bus trip through Europe and we have to much of Australia to see before we do anything like that again