Although Carnival Corp & plc, the world's largest cruise shipping group, continued to seek growth in new source markets in the Far East and South America, traditional markets like the UK continue to play a major role in the future of the group, said Arnold. W. Donald, group ceo.
"The UK is a financial pillar for the group," Donald said at the presentation of the name of the new ship of P&O Cruises in London on Tuesday. The 143,000 gross ton ship will be called Britannia.
David Dingle, ceo of P&O Cruises and Carnival UK, said that the British market remains demand driven and it has recorded an average growth rate of 5% from 2008. Last year, however, the market's growth effectively stalled at 1.7 million passengers, but then again no new ships were introduced to target the market.
Britannia will be the eight ship of P&O Cruises and it will grow the capacity of the brand by 24% when it will enter service in March 2015. Dingle forecast that the British market may grow to 2.0 million to 2.5 million passengers by the year 2020. The introduction of Britannia appears well timed as the economic cycle in the country is strengthening.
