Global demand for cruising has increased 68 percent over the past decade, driven by countries like the US, Germany, the UK and China, one of the fastest growing markets.

A wide-sweeping report published by Cruise Lines International Association shows that interest in sailing the high seas has been growing steadily over the years: In 2014, 22 million holidaymakers chose to spend their vacations on cruise ships, compared to 13 million in 2004.

Last year also marked a few records in the industry, with 11 million passengers boarding from US ports to set a new high.

In dollar signs, that translates to a record $21 billion USD pumped into the US industry alone, which also represents a new peak in the US for cruise expenditures, says the CLIA.

While Florida remains the center of the American cruise industry, accounting for 62 percent of all US embarkations, the report points out that California is catching up, driven primarily by shorter, three and four-day cruise offerings which are growing increasingly popular.

And though the American market remains the largest cruising by a huge margin – 11.2 million US cruisers in 2014, compared to 1.77 million cruisers from Germany- the report highlights that the cruise tourism industry in Asia is growing at double-digit rates.

Between 2013 and 2015, the volume of cruises and voyages throughout the regoin increased 11 percent and passenger capacity grew 20 percent.

The biggest driver, is, not surprisingly, China, accounting for nearly half of the regional passenger volume in 2014.

Here were the biggest cruise markets in the world in 2014:

1. US: 11.2 million
2. Germany: 1.77 million
3. United Kingdom: 1.61 million
4. Australia: 1 million
5. Italy: 840,000
6. Canada: 800,000
7. China: 700,00
8. France: 590,000
9. Spain: 450,000
10. Norway: 180,000