The French source market contracted in 2017, shrinking to just over 503,000 guests from 574,000 the year prior, according to Remi Arca, chairman of Un Océan de Croisières, a major travel agency.
“This can be attributed to the demise of CDF, which was the French brand,” Arca said, in the 2019 European Regional Report by Cruise Industry News.
That shifted a number of budget-minded travelers to book land vacations in Tunisia and Morocco, he said.
At Selectours, a group of some 1,200 travel agents, demand is strong despite a lack of French-themed cruise capacity, said Valerie LaRoche, director of sales.
“We’ve seen a bit of a decline in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, but there has been a strong increase in Caribbean bookings despite the storms,” she said.
For Arca, the Eastern Mediterranean has not done well.
“That is due to the geopolitical problems we all know about,” he said. “But, destinations like the Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland have become very popular.”
LaRoche said that packaging in onboard items with ticket purchases was a good move.
“It is more complicated, but the cruise lines have provided information and trained us. Visiting ships and going to events are good opportunities to learn the product,” she said. “People are asking for free WiFi.”
Arca said French passengers preferred an all-inclusive experience, which does come at an elevated price.
“Despite the decline in passenger numbers, the average spend per ticket is going up,” Arca continued.
While Ponant remains a leader on the luxury side in France, the French market is becoming more educated and more interested in all the high-end cruise lines, Arca said. However, they are doubtful about foreign-language ships.
“Language is still an obstacle,” Arca said. “You might be able to deal with life onboard if you aren’t a master at English, but it would be impossible to follow a shore excursion if you can’t understand the guide.”
French homeporting has also helped grow the source market, as guests can easily take high-speed trains to ships in Marseille and Nice, LaRoche said. There is also Le Havre serving Northern Europe with a heavy MSC Cruises presence.
“Overall, cruises are a good money-maker for us and the satisfaction level is high,” LaRoche added. “Prices are steady with no significant increases, but we have seen pricing increases in the fly-cruise packages.”
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Learn more about the European cruise market in the 2019 European Regional Report by Cruise Industry News.
The 2019 European Regional Report outlines all European cruise brands and goes in-depth into growth strategies through 2027. Plus information on the major source markets and all key ports, as well as data sets and more. 120+ Page PDF.
