The figures, released by the European Cruise Council (ECC) also show the sector generated €32.2bn of goods and services and provided more than 311,000 jobs in 2008.
David Dingle, chairman of the ECC and chief executive of Carnival UK, said: ‘These latest figures show the cruise industry continues to play a major role in the economy of Europe.
‘The total value of goods and services generated has increased by a staggering 69% in the last three years to more than €32bn.
‘We have also seen an increase in the amount passengers spend. At turnaround ports it’s €106 while at ports of call passengers spend on average €57 per visit.
‘In 2008, total passenger onshore spend was €2.7bn, a 69% increase over 2005.’
Dingle added: ‘Europe has acted as a magnet, drawing cruise ships from North America, which together with European fleets has led to a significant increase in the number of passengers joining their cruise from a European port, a 68% increase since 2005 to 4.7m passengers.’
Click here to see the ECC report in full (682KB pdf).
See also:
Celebrity axes European cruises (07/05/2009)
Greece and Italy most popular cruise destinations (18/03/2009)
Ex-UK options boost cruise figures (16/03/2009)