With spring approaching, many people are starting to book holidays or think about holidays that they plan to take. According to the recent 2018 Travel Trends report published by ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), more than 1 in 10 holidaymakers aged between 18-24 plan to take a cruise within the next year. We were interested in finding out more about the appeal of cruise holidays amongst millennials and understanding what cruise companies can do to tackle barriers to cruising and attract a younger audience.

Using our quick and effective Harris 24 service, we surveyed 944 UK adults aged between 18 and 34 between the 26th and 27th January 2018. The data has been weighted to be nationally representative.

Key headlines from the research

• City breaks (72%) and beach holidays (71%) are the most popular types of holidays that 18-34 years olds intend to take in the next 3 years
• Though not as popular as these holiday types, 1 in 6 young adults have booked or are planning to book a cruise holiday
• For those who have not already booked or planned to take a cruise holiday, 43% would consider taking this type of holiday
• The biggest appeal of a cruise holiday is the ability to visit multiple destinations on one holiday
• Onboard spas and live music performances appeal to more than half (53%) of those who have booked or would be interested in booking a cruise holiday
• For those not planning a cruise holiday in the next 3 years, more than 4 in 10 claim that they do not find this type of holiday appealing (44%) and there are also concerns around the expense of cruises (40%)

Here are some examples of suggestions made for attracting more young adults to cruising given by those who have already booked or would consider booking a cruise:

Q:Imagine you worked for a cruise company and wanted to attract people your age to take more cruise
holidays, how would you do this?

Read the full report

Visit the research report download page and submit your details to receive a PDF of the full report direct to your inbox. If you have any questions about this research, please get in touch with me on +44 (0)161 242 1383 or at ckennedy@harrisinteractive.co.uk.