Cruise Ship Season 2024: Summary with Insights and Visuals
The 2024 cruise ship season in Iceland has ended, bringing many visitors and interesting statistics worth exploring. Graphs are included to illustrate key trends.
Start and End of the Season
The cruise ship season began on March 21st with the arrival of the ship named Ambition. The season ended on October 12th when the eco-friendly ship called Le Commandant Charcot departed. The season spanned from spring to fall, bringing in significant tourism and economic activity to Reykjavik’s port.
How Many Ships and Passengers?
- A total of 90 cruise ships visited Reykjavik, making 259 stops in total.
- Altogether, there were 321,966 passengers on these ships, which is almost equal to Iceland’s entire population of approximately 376,000 people! This highlights just how popular Iceland has become as a cruise destination.
- Out of all these passengers, 156,454 were “turnaround passengers”. Turnaround passengers are those who either started or ended their trip in Iceland and flew in or out through the Keflavík Airport.
- Compared to last year, when 148,615 passengers did this, there has been a 5% increase. So, more people started or ended their trips in Iceland this year!
What’s Happening in 2025?
- For 2025, we are expecting 238 ship stops with around 300,000 passengers visiting. This decrease in ship stops is primarily due to fewer expedition ships being scheduled, along with changes in itineraries and demand patterns for certain routes. Additionally, ongoing construction in the port area may have influenced some ships to change their plans for 2025.
- There will likely be fewer “expedition ships”, decreasing from 127 stops this year to 107 stops next year.
- However, the number of turnaround passengers is expected to increase to 160,633, which would be around 53.5% of all visitors.
Key Points:
- Season started in March and ended in October.
- 90 ships visited Reykjavik with 321,966 passengers.
- More people started or ended their journey in Iceland this year, showing a 5% increase.
- Fewer ships are expected in 2025, but the number of turnaround passengers is expected to grow.
These graphs help illustrate the trends and make it easier to see how the cruise ship activities are changing year by year. We look forward to seeing what 2025 brings for the Icelandic cruise season!
Source: October 17, 2024 | Faxaflóa
