Asia Pacific has overtaken Europe as the second most important source region for cruise passengers, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) said in its 2018 annual report.

The number of Europeans that took a cruise increased by 3.0% to 6.99 million last year, while the Asia-Pacific region experienced a 29.4% increase, to 7.00 million, RCCL said.

“Industry cruise guests sourced from the Asia/Pacific region represented approximately 25% of global cruise guests in 2018. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 31% from 2014 to 2018. The Asia/Pacific region is experiencing the highest growth rate of the major regions, although it represents a relatively small sector compared to North America,” RCCL said.

“Industry cruise guests sourced from Europe represented approximately 25% of global cruise guests in 2018. The compound annual growth rate in cruise guests sourced from this market was approximately 2% from 2014 to 2018,” RCCL continued.

North America produced 13.0 million passengers last year, an increase of some 200,000 on the previous year, according to RCCL figures.