2017 was another year of exceptional growth for Asian cruise market, according to the latest report released by Cruise Lines International Association's (CLIA) on Asia Cruise Trends.

Asian sourced cruise passenger numbers hit record high in 2017 of 4.052 million. Asia accounted for about 15 percent of total global ocean passenger volume in 2017.

According to Joel Katz Managing, Director for CLIA Australasia & Asia, after another year of exceptional growth which saw Asia outperform other established markets, it's clear that cruising is continuing to grow in popularity as cruise lines continue to deploy significant capacity in the region, including brand new, large cruise ships purpose-built for Asian consumers.

Joel added that 2018 is expected to deliver another year of growth as Asian travellers increasingly recognize cruising as an easy, relaxing, and great value for money way to travel.

According to the same report, the year of 2018 will see 38 cruise brands deployed, up by 3 in 2017. More ships are also bound for Asian waters in 2018, with 78 ships are set to be deployed in Asia, up from 66 in 2017.

In addition, there is a tendency toward deployment of bigger cruise ships which can hold 3,500 passengers as well as small upscale ships in the region.

Destination markets seeing the most calls are Japan, Mainland China, and Thailand in 2018, with the figures of 2,601, 1,012, and 581 respectively.