Andy Harmer, managing director of CLIA London, delivered a keynote at the Cruise Lines International Association’s annual Irish trade conference where he outlined an optimistic trajectory for the cruise industry amid sustained post-pandemic recovery and emerging market shifts.
He projected a 12pc rise in European passenger volumes for 2026, driven by expedition and river segments, with Irish departures contributing €450m in revenue from 65,000 sailings in 2025. Mr Harmer highlighted the association’s membership growth to 4,300 agencies, up from 450 in 2013, attributing the surge to targeted training via Cruising.org, which now serves 10,000 users.
He addressed challenges like port congestion in the Mediterranean, recommending diversified itineraries to northern Europe and the Baltic for agents. The conference featured workshops on CLIA’s Expedition Summit add-on for May 2025 and the RiverView Conference in March, with €5000 in scholarships for new sellers.
Mr Harmer praised partnerships with lines like Norwegian, MSC and Royal Caribbean, which added Irish calls for 2026. Delegates received digital toolkits for client outreach, including virtual tours and fare incentives.
Mr Harmer fielded questions on geopolitical risks affecting routes to the Red Sea. CLIA committed to Irish agent development in 2026, focusing on eco-certifications under Origin Green. Harmer’ has promised a follow-up webinar in January on AI-driven personalisation. CLIA is engaged in a global push for 35m passengers by 2027, with Ireland’s market share at 2.5pc.
Andy Harmer shared: An interesting thing about cruise is that we are very much an industry of thirds. About a third of the current ocean fleet—about 100 of those ships—are smaller than a thousand guests. That’s been growing but fairly stable over the last 10 years. There has been that increase in small ship operations, whether it’s Explorer Journeys, sea cruising, or some of the other brands that offer that luxury experience, expedition experience, or yacht and sail experience. That third has stayed fairly stable.So, when people tell you that all the ocean ships operating are these big ships with lots of great facilities, that’s not true. A third are under a thousand guests, a third are in that midsize range between a thousand and 3,000 guests, and a third are in that larger category—so, Icon of the Seas kind of territory. Really exciting ships, great shipbuilding techniques, and a great way of delivering that huge choice of dining and entertainment. .activities, as well as the destination experience.
