Online searches: everyone is crazy about cruise holidays!

Our DataLab has carried out a study that offers an interesting snapshot of cruise holiday search trends, revealing compelling insights for the cruise industry as well as growth forecasts for specific interests.

• Searches for singles cruises and mini cruises have been booming online since last year and the trend is still climbing: there is a desire for relationships and connections, but saving money remains the top priority;
• among the destinations, the most searched remains the Mediterranean with 44,800 searches in May 2022, but the Fjords and the Caribbean are rising sharply, a sign of the craving for the exotic;
• the most searched company is Costa Crociere, but the most searched ship is MSC Grandiosa with 23,100 average monthly searches.

Cruise holidays are almost impossible to describe. In a single package you can enjoy exceptional experiences.

On a cruise you stay in luxury resorts on the sea, take part in sports activities, dine in gourmet restaurants, and can attend theatre shows that have nothing to envy of those on Broadway!

That is why taking a cruise holiday is the dream of many people. What could be more wonderful than sailing across the sea aboard luxury ships, travelling from one capital city to another and enjoying fun activities at the various ports of call? On a cruise you never get bored!

It is no coincidence that cruises have been at the heart of the new post-Covid tourism boom, with 2022 recording almost 300% more bookings than 2021, and forecasts of further growth for 2023. According to the latest estimates, in fact, the new year is expected to see 48.6 million cruise passengers*.

These estimates are confirmed by the volumes of online searches: cruises too are booked with a click. A study of the queries and main keywords used to search for cruises can be a valuable tool for OTAs, tourism boards and all operators in the world of tourism. Thanks to online search reports , it is in fact possible to understand users’ preferences and needs: internet searches reveal the consumption habits of potential customers when it comes to cruise holidays.

So let’s take a look at the most searched destinations, the most popular types of cruise, as well as the ships and companies that appear most often in online searches, data of great interest to anyone working in tourism digital marketing!

In 2022, the cruise was a trend

The search term “cruise” recorded incredible growth over the last 24 months. To grasp its scale, consider that from May to September 2021 the search volume was 74,000 queries, while in the same period of 2022 queries reached 110,000. In general, the whole of 2022 was a year of growth for online interest in this keyword.

The same is true for related searches, such as “last minute cruises” and “cruise deals”. For the first search term, August 2021 had recorded the new post-pandemic peak in queries: 60,300 units. In July 2022, queries more than doubled, with 139,600 searches! The trend for “cruise deals” was similar: against the 10,920 queries of June and July 2021, 2022 responded with almost 19,000 searches in May.

Overall, it is clear that 2022 marked a new boom of interest in cruise holidays, evidenced by search volumes far higher than the previous year.

A cruise holiday? Yes, but where?

When deciding to go on a cruise holiday, the hardest decision is choosing the itinerary to follow. You would like to do every possible itinerary, or even sail around the world! Here too, online searches offer an interesting snapshot of the most searched destinations on the Internet.

The Mediterranean takes first place in this ranking, with the almost 45,000 queries recorded in May 2022. The 2021 peak for the search intent “Mediterranean cruises” was little more than half of those searches, 25,110 in June.

In second place are the Fjords: the Nordic charm and the unmistakable landscapes make them the second favourite cruise destination. Here too, 2022 almost doubled 2021 in terms of search volume: 24,220 in August 2022, compared with 13,370 in the same month of the previous year.

The lowest step of the podium is contested by two destinations that are very far apart yet similar as a type of holiday: Greek islands or Caribbean islands? The search intent for “Caribbean cruise” wins this head-to-head, with an average monthly traffic volume of 5,738 queries over the last two years, against the 3,938 queries for the search intent “Greek islands cruise”. Yet there were moments when searches for the Greek islands overtook those for the Caribbean, particularly in the month of June, in both 2021 and 2021.

And who wins the battle between great rivers? Nile cruise or Danube cruise? In this case there is no contest: the keyword “Nile cruise” has an average monthly search volume of 9,425 queries over the last 24 months, with a peak of 36,000 searches in August 2022. The keyword “Danube cruise”, on the other hand, settles at 851 average monthly searches, with the August 2022 peak stopping at 2,900 queries.

The most searched cruise companies and their ships

But which are the most searched cruise companies and ships? And at what time of year? The data from online searches offers an answer to these questions, invaluable for anyone working in the online tourism sector (link to article on tourism).

The other big decision when planning a cruise, after the destination, is the company to travel with. Every company has magnificent ships, with exclusive benefits and breathtaking tours. The comparison between companies and ships is interesting because the most searched company does not always also have the most searched cruise ship online.

In Italy, the most searched travel company on the Internet is Costa Crociere. This search term has an average of 368,125 monthly queries over the last twenty-four months, with a new standard set in summer 2022 of 736,000 monthly queries from May to August. The company’s most searched ship is Costa Firenze, with a volume of 16,274 average monthly searches.

The second most searched company is MSC Crociere, whose traffic volume is however almost half that of Costa Crociere: 187,333 average monthly queries. Here too the peak was reached in the summer of 2022, when queries settled at 450,000. At the level of the individual ship, however, MSC Crociere takes first place with MSC Grandiosa and its 23,120 average monthly searches. To be precise, the second position among the most searched cruise ships online is also held by an MSC vessel, namely MSC Seaside, with 21,133 average monthly queries.

Rounding off the podium, albeit far behind the other companies, is Royal Caribbean with 25,288 average monthly queries over the last two years. The company’s most searched ship is the splendid Wonder of the Seas, which recorded an average monthly search volume of 7,192.

In short, a cruise holiday means beauty, discovery, relaxation and fun: as soon as you step off the ship you want to book your next trip already!

Discover the biggest and most original interests of users online in our online searches for furnishings, for online tourism or for the gamification of fruit and vegetables.

*https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/crociere-tornano-crescere-passeggeri-AENKSAgB

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