The Australian cruise market was heavily driven by business from the state of New South Wales while the South Pacific remained the favourite destination and river cruise passenger numbers soared by 60% in 2014, figures release by CLIA Australasia show.

New South Wales produced 41% of Australia's 1.00 million cruise passengers last year. The state has a population of about 7.5 million, which equals to about one third of the entire population of the country.

The most popular cruise destination for Australians is the South Pacific, attracting more than 390,000 passengers (39% of the market). Cruises from domestic ports to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific accounted for 67% of Australian passengers in 2014 (671,030 cruisers)

The continuing popularity of Europe saw the region become Australians’ third most popular ocean cruise destination accounting for 93,529 cruisers, while river cruising numbers surged by more than 60% to 79,530 passengers.

The arrival of new ships in Asia prompted a 25% increase in Australian passengers cruising in the region, with numbers rising to more than 55,000.

Cruises of 8-14 days duration remain the most popular attracting 54% of passengers, although shorter cruises of up to four days experienced a 59% surge in numbers. Australians spent an estimated 10 million days at sea in 2014, cruising for an average 9.7 days on ocean cruises and 13 days on river cruises.