The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) on Thursday cheerfully announced that consumer demand for cruise vacations had not waned in the second quarter, up almost 12 percent over the same period before. The increase amounted to 2.97 million passengers carried, of which 2.5 million guests were sourced from North America, with the remaining originating from international source markets. Additionally, CLIA reported a collective 103.2 percent occupancy factor in the second quarter compared with 99 percent for the same period last year. "All indicators point to another stellar year for the cruise industry," lauded Terry Dale, president and CEO of CLIA. "The cruise industry's attention to shipboard innovation, service and value has not gone unnoticed by the traveling public, a fact that is clearly evidenced in the significant increase in guests choosing to cruise from year to year."
