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 RIVER CRUISING
A Guide from the Passenger Shipping Association
River cruising has enjoyed a tremendous resurgence in the 1990s.
Almost 150,000 people took a river cruise in 1997, compared to 44,200 in 1992,
and Bill Gibbons, PSA director, put the phenomenal success of river cruising down to two factors.
- "The recovery of Egypt's tourism industry and the return of operators to Nile cruises has had a huge impact. Almost half of all river cruise holidays are now taken on the Nile.
- "The other reason for the tremendous growth is the fact that countries such as Russia and China have opened up for river passengers. In these countries, river cruises can offer a comfortable way of travelling when the infrastructure may not be geared for tourists."
| RIVER | 1992 | 1997 |
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| The Nile | 15,000 | 70,000 | | The Rhine and tributaries | 20,000 | 27,000 | | Russia Neva Volga rivers and waterways | - | 15,000 | | Danube | 1,000 | 10,000 | | Yangtse, China | 100 | 5,000 | | The Rhone | 1,000 | 5,000 | | Elbe | 600 | 4,000 |
| Mississippi | 500 | 2,000 | | The Duro, Portugal | 1,000 | 2,000 | | Others including the Po in Italy, the Amazon in S America and the Irawaddi in Burma | 5,000 | 4,000 |
| Total | 44,200 | 144,000 |
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