The proportion of families taking cruises has almost doubled in the past five years, according to ABTA’s latest Holiday Habits report.
It found that 15% of families have taken a cruise in the past year, compared to just 8% in 2019 and three percentage points higher than the general population.
Growth is expected to continue, it said, with 17% of families saying they planned to take a cruise in the next 12 months.
ABTA said the growth was being driven by domestic cruises, with 51% of families saying they favoured cruises around the UK above all other types.
“This preference for staying closer to home means they’re much more interested in shorter trip durations than the average cruiser with, for example, 24% interested in taking a weekend cruise compared with 13% on average,” said ABTA.
The findings of the Holiday Habits report were based on a survey of 2,000 adults from 24 July to 2 August 2024.
When asked what they liked about cruising, 49% of families said the chance to meet like-minded people, which was considerably more important than for other demographics (31%).
However, most families choose cruising for the opportunity to visit multiple destinations in one trip, which was cited by 52%, followed by value for money and safety (both 48%).
Overall, families take more holidays than any other type of traveller, with those with older children travelling abroad in greater numbers than those with younger children.
Families are also taking more trips per year than other age groups, according to the Holiday Habits report. Families with children under five take an average of 6.5 trips each per year, while those with older children take an average of 5.3 trips each, which compares to an overall average of 3.9.
Beach breaks are the most popular holiday type for all travellers, accounting for 48% of trips, followed by city breaks (43%), countryside breaks (27%), multi-centres (15%), lakes and mountains (13%), cruises (12%) and wellness holidays (7%).