Findings from a report conducted by the Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA) on behalf of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) concluded that the cruise industry generated €10.4 billion to the UK economy in 2017, representing around 22% of the cruise industry’s ‘total output’ across Europe, CLIA said in a statement.

The report looked at tourism and employment figures during 2017. From the overall figure, €3.85 billion was spent in direct expenditures and the remaining €6.55 billion came from indirect and induced expenditure.

Direct expenditures were principally distributed across cruise line purchases (€2,481 million), passenger and crew spending (€559m), compensation of cruise line employees (€675m) and ship repairs (€135m).

Andy Harmer, CLIA UK & Ireland director, said: “The figures released today bear testament to the cruise industry continuing to make significant contributions to the UK’s economy and the multi-billion valuation shows that cruise is a major player within the travel sector.

“More Brits are choosing a cruise holiday, more cruise passengers are embarking on a cruise from UK ports and the number of ports-of-call visitors continues to increase. This, along with more jobs being created through the cruise industry, translates into great economic benefits for the country.”

A total of 1,094,000 cruise passengers embarked on a cruise from UK ports. More than 80% of departures were from Southampton.

The UK also experienced growth in ports-of-call visits, with 1,415,000 passengers visiting a UK port in 2017. The most visited British port was Invergordon, Scotland, with an estimated 134,000 cruise passengers going ashore.

These port-of-call visits generated an additional €113 million in direct expenditures such as tours and souvenirs. Passengers spent an average of €80 while in port and €180 at their port-of-embarkation.

Together, passengers and crew spent an estimated €559 million at ports-of-embarkation and call, accounting for 15% of total cruise industry expenditures in the UK.

Cruise passengers spent an estimated €431m on airfares, port fees, lodging, food and beverage, excursions and other expenditure in the UK. An estimated €14.8m was spent by crew at ports-of-embarkation and call, averaging €35 per crew member.

There were 37,720 roles generated by cruise-related expenditures; 17,183 Britons worked for cruise lines, either in administrative offices or as crew onboard ships. Other jobs included direct suppliers to the cruise lines and the employees of establishments that provide goods and services to cruise passengers. This paid €1.41billion in employee compensation.

An estimated 44,690 indirect and induced jobs throughout the UK generated by the cruise industry, generating €1.75 billion in employee compensation. Relative to 2015, indirect and induced employment and compensation impacts increased by 13% and 17% respectively.

Harmer added: “The success of the global cruise industry is set to continue with 24 new ships scheduled to launch in 2019 and 107 new ships on order for delivery before 2027, worth close to $60 billion. As the cruise industry’s confidence in the UK increases, so does the number of ships built for the UK market.