Cruise Month has delivered its strongest results yet, with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) confirming record consumer and travel agent engagement for the 2025 campaign.
Cruise Month sees surge in consumer interest
CLIA’s analysis of October’s campaign shows social media reach more than doubled compared with last year, fuelled by an expanded program of digital advertising, billboards, education initiatives and refreshed social content. The campaign continued to spotlight the value of booking through cruise-specialist travel agents and directed consumers to their nearest CLIA-accredited consultant.
Across digital channels, engagement spiked significantly. Click-throughs from LinkedIn jumped by 285 per cent, while Facebook and Instagram clicks rose by 140 per cent. New visitors to the CLIA website increased by 12 per cent year-on-year, contributing to a 33 per cent rise in overall page views.
Strongest-ever response from the travel trade
Travel agent involvement also reached new highs. More than 3,000 CLIA-accredited agents accessed the Cruise Month Toolkit, up 51 per cent on the previous year, making use of marketing assets to support their own promotional efforts. CLIA’s expanded webinar program also saw strong uptake, with more than 4,800 registrations throughout October — a 43 per cent lift on 2024.
CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said the success of Cruise Month reflected unprecedented trade engagement.
“We’ve seen more travel agents than ever getting involved in Cruise Month and mounting their own promotions and marketing initiatives, which has helped lift the excitement around cruising,” Mr Katz said.
“All our activity has been designed to highlight CLIA members as the best-trained cruise specialists available, and the number of travel agents getting involved in our education opportunities this year really proves that point.”
Multi-channel campaign drives awareness
This year’s activity ran across Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, using a rolling series of videos and imagery to guide consumers toward CLIA-accredited cruise specialists. Additional elements included targeted digital advertising for both new-to-cruise travellers and existing cruise fans, billboard placements, cruise-themed newspaper lift-outs, Cruise Month promotions by CLIA cruise line members, and a trade competition for agents hosting their own events.
