3.8m passengers seen for Asian cruises by 2020

[SINGAPORE] The US$2-billion cruise tourism market in Asia is poised to see an unprecedented 14 per cent growth annually to 3.8 million passengers by 2020, with almost half of that market coming from China.

Projections suggest a potential Asian source market of 3.8 million by 2020, representing a compounded annual growth of 14.3 per cent and a total market penetration of 0.12 per cent, according to an industry report released yesterday.

Such a scenario would be propped up by China providing nearly half of this market, at 1.6 million passengers, followed closely by Japan at 766,000, the first-ever cruise sector White Paper, commissioned by the Asia Cruise Association, reported. To cater to such a vast market though would require at least 15 large ships - Voya…