CLIA: Cruises act as gateway to land tourism, 70% of passengers return

At Connections Cruise Arabia in Dubai, industry leaders highlighted the growing role of cruises in stimulating long-term land-based tourism, with new research from CLIA showing that seven in ten cruise passengers later return to a destination for a dedicated land holiday.

Andy Harmer, Managing Director of CLIA UK & Ireland, told delegates that this trend underlines how cruising complements, rather than competes with, traditional tourism. 

“The evidence is clear,” he said. “Passengers often use a cruise itinerary as a way to sample a destination, and a significant majority then return for a land holiday. That positions cruise as a critical gateway to wider tourism.”

The research has particular resonance in the Middle East, where governments and tourism boards are investing heavily in port infrastructure and airlift to attract cruise lines. Harmer suggested the findings reinforce that the sector can deliver repeat visitation and wider economic benefits beyond the port call itself.

Cruise line executives on the same panel echoed this view. Anna Gregori, Vice President, Brand, Marketing, PR & Customer Experience of Celestyal Cruises emphasised that destination immersion is central to her company’s product, pointing to overnight calls in Dubai and extended stays across the Gulf. “By allowing our guests to spend more time ashore, we see them returning later for longer land stays,”she said.

Angelo Capurro, Executive Director of MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys added that the ability to visit multiple destinations in one trip remains one of the industry’s strongest selling points, often motivating passengers to plan extended holidays in cities such as Rome, Naples, or Barcelona after first experiencing them on a cruise.

The emphasis on cruise as a driver of repeat tourism comes as the Gulf region positions itself for growth, with Dubai hosting nearly a million cruise visitors in the past two years and Saudi Arabia developing ten new ports along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

For local policymakers, Harmer argued, the message is clear: cruise passengers are not one-time visitors, but part of a wider tourism ecosystem. “Cruising gives travellers confidence in a destination,” he said. “Once they have experienced it as part of an itinerary, they are far more likely to come back.”