According to the Cruise Line International Association’s (CLIA) annual report published in June, demand for cruising is at an all-time high and has risen 68 per cent in the past ten years, with passenger numbers globally projected to hit a record 24 million by the end of 2016.
This growth has been helped by businesses’ interest in corporate cruising. A report from CLIA found 73 per cent of meetings and events professionals expected to use a cruise liner for a client’s incentive group over the following three years, while 53 per cent said they were likely to organise a conference on a ship over the same period.
In fact, earlier this year, one of the industry’s leading operators, Celebrity Cruises, reported a 20 per cent rise for the sixth straight year in its group-business revenue. But why is there such growth in this area of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), what are the pitfalls and could it work for your business?
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