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| Trends in
Japan cruises in 2004 |
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March 22, 2005
< Inquiries >
Maritime Bureau, International Shipping Division
(Extensions: 43323, 43324)
TEL: 03-5253-8111 (Reception) |
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| 1. |
The cruise population of Japan |
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In 2004, the cruise population
(Note *1) of Japan numbered about
160,000 persons. The year 2004 posted an increase of 14.3% over the
level of the previous year, putting a halt to the trend to decrease
for three consecutive years. Within this figure, the number of
passengers on oceangoing cruise ships was about 73,000 (up 24.7% on
the year), and the number of cruise passengers on domestic ship was
about 87,000 (up 6.8% on the year) (cf.
Graph -1). |
| 2. |
Trends in ocean-going cruises |
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The number of oceangoing
cruise ship passengers in 2004 put a stop to three consecutive
years of decrease following a peak in 2000, thus showing a trend
to recovery in comparison with the previous year, which had been negatively
affected by the SARS scare. The number of passengers of Japan-registered
oceangoing cruise ships (refer to Attachment
1) operated by Japanese shipping lines increased by about 16,000
over the previous year. Broken down by area, Oceania and Micronesia
showed three-fold growth. The number of passengers of foreign cruse
lines (including foreign ships managed by Japanese shipping lines)
rose to about 58,000 (refer to Graph
1).
With respect to the total number of passenger-overnights,
including fly-and-cruise packages and Japan departure/arrival
cruises, there was a decline in passengers of short cruises
(2-3 overnights) and an increase in longer cruises (4-13 overnights),
whose share increased from 41.8% to 44.5%. Consequently,
the number of passenger-overnights increased to around 689,000,
with the average number of overnights increasing to 9.4. It
appears that the number of people simply enjoying a cruising
is increasing (refer to Graph
4).
Broken down by objective, the number of passengers of
ocean-going cruises whose objective was leisure amounted to 90.3%,
the second consecutive year in which this objective scored over 90%.
In contrast, passengers of group tours decreased by 1.0%, marking
the second consecutive year of decline (refer
to Graph 2).
With respect to cruise area broken down by number of passengers,
Asia had the greatest share when Baltic Sea of two overnights or shorter
are excluded. Moreover, the Caribbean, North America, Alaska, and
Mexico doubled, posting record-high growth(refer
to Graph 6). |
| 3. |
Trends in Domestic Cruises |
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The number of passengers
on cruises in coastal waters has continued on a decline for seven
consecutive years since its peak in 1995. Last year, however, the
number increased, and in 2004, the number of passengers was about
87,000, marking the second consecutive year of a switch to an upward
move (refer to Graph 1).
Broken down by the number of overnights, 1-3 overnights accounted
for 78.0%, with 2-3 overnights occupying the largest share(refer
to Graph 5).
Moreover, the number of passenger-overnights on
coastal water cruise ships operated by Japanese ocean-going
cruise shipping lines was about 225,000/day. Although the
number of passenger-overnights increased over the previous year,
the average number of overnights, which was 2.7, decreased slightly
from the previous year. It is thought that there is an increase
in the number of passengers of one-night cruises, who simply
want to enjoy a cruise, and there is a possibility of a trend
to growth at the lower levels of the cruise population (refer
to Graph 5-2).
Broken down by objective, leisure accounted for 82.7%. Within that
figure, one-night cruise accounted for 25.1%, an increase over the
previous year (refer to Graph 3). |
| 4. |
Oceangoing passengers on regularly
scheduled lines |
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The number of Japanese passengers
who were board on regularly scheduled lines with Japan departure/arrival
(14 lines operating 14 routes as of the end of 2004; refer
to Attachment 2) amounted to about 457,000, an increase of 35.9%
over the previous year (refer to Graph
7). This is thought to be the result of a large increase in the
number of passengers of Korea routes, reflecting efforts to boost
the number of faster trips in connection with an increase in the number
of high-speed ships in service on Korea routes and the construction
of and service by new, faster ferries.
This material is a statistical summary of trends of Japanese
cruise passengers*2, which has been
made annually since 1986. |
| Note *1: |
Cruise population: |
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The number of Japanese
passengers, including passengers on cruises in coastal waters and
ocean-going cruises. This figure covers on-board passengers of one
overnight or longer but excludes day-trip passengers. The number of
coastal water cruise passengers includes the number of passengers
on coastal water ferries, which since 1997 have been included in the
number of passengers on coastal water cruises by Japan-registered
oceangoing cruise ships. |
| Note *2 |
Survey method: |
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A questionnaire survey
(with replies from 132 companies; response rate: about 97%) was carried
out. The survey covered Japanese cruise lines, agencies of ocean-going
cruise shipping lines, and travel agencies that handle overseas travel
including cruises (136 companies). In 2004, nine companies were added
to the list of companies covered by the 2003 survey. |
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