years. This flexibility means that people are able to organize themselves in advance depending on their schedules. In the case of people who have large families, they can use loyalty points in order to reduce the financial strain. Surveys also show that a reasonable number of elderly people would be open to retiring in the sea, especially if they get good offers.
Looking at China, the future of cruising does not look that bright, which is in stark contrast to the expanding economy. In 2017, the figure increased slightly to 2.8 million travelers from the 2.1 million of 2016. However, despite the desire of the Chinese government to improve the sector, the number of people going on cruises is projected to decrease by at least 14.3% in 2018. This decrease has now forced cruise operator to start pulling out from the country. The reason for this decline includes things like strict Chinese regulations, tourism bans, poor relations with South Korea, and other things. An example of a negative Chinese regulation is one that does not allow cruise companies to sell goods directly to Chinese consumers, which has left cruise companies in a bad financial situation. Another possible reason for the decline is that people are slowly getting out of traditional cruise ships where everything is preplanned. Instead, people are now leaning towards independent planning where they get to enjoy themselves as much as they want.
Spain is one of the countries with the highest numbers of tourists in the world. However, these tourists do not necessarily get there via the sea. The low number of cruise ship travelers to Spain can be attributed to the anti-tourist protests in some parts of the country. These protests are aimed at cruise companies for the pollution they case to the sea. This trend has also been observed in Italy.