Cruise shipping in Brazil: An emergent or established market?

• In Brazil, Cruise Shipping had remarkable increasing, diversifying routes competing with Destination Tourism
• Brazilian cruise market had a double-digit average growth of 13% in the 1999-2011 period.
• However, as from 2011 there was a reduction of 45% in number of ships and 25% in passengers.
• Brazil is an established market for cruise shipping companies. This research covers the missing literature on this regard.

ABSTRACTIn Brazil, the cruise shipping industry has showing remarkable growth by expanding and diversifying routes, and incorporating bigger, more luxurious ships, thereby establishing cruising as the equivalent of more conventional destination based tourism. Initially the cruise shipping companies started activities in the Brazilian market to optimise fleet utilisation during the Northern Hemisphere winter season. However, while for more than a decade the Brazilian market achieved double-digit annual growth, after 2011 the numbers of passengers, ports visited and ships used have declined. This paper contends that Brazil is a mature cruise market in its own right and examines the industry in terms of both itineraries being offered and the role of Brazilian cruising in fleet deployment.