PHOTO: Florida remains the center of cruising in the U.S. Pictured is Port Canaveral. (Courtesy of Port Canaveral)
The number of global cruise passengers has skyrocketed 77 percent, from 12 million to 21.3 million from 2003 to 2013, according to figures released by the Cruise Lines International Association.
The report, commissioned by CLIA and conducted by Business Research and Economic Advisers (BREA), also found that the cruise industry contributed a record $44.1 billion to the U.S. economy. The cruise industry supports 363,133 U.S. jobs in every state, paying wages of $18.3 billion. Direct spending in the U.S. by cruise lines, passengers, and crew totaled $20.1 billion, nearly double expenditures made in 2000.
Nearly 10 million cruise passengers embarked at U.S. ports. The top 10 U.S. cruise ports accounted for 86 percent of embarkations. Florida's five homeports accounted for nearly 62 percent of all U.S. embarkations in 2013. California, Texas, and New York each had more than 600,000 embarkations.
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