Bachelor Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Tourism, Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, language: English, abstract: There is no doubt that international tourism expanded significantly in the last decade. Especially the cruise industry did an extraordinary performance with its two digit growth rates and investments in billions range. The tourism industry is the so called 'leading economy' of the 21st century and the cruise industry is one of the master performers within the tourism industry. The 'big three players' (Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Star Cruises Group) made in 2005 over $ 22billion in revenues and profits more than $ 3billion. How could the german cruise market look like in 2025? But will this development going on for the next years or decades? This assignment will introduce the state of the art of the cruise industry and discuss trends and developments within economy and society. It will be discussed how these developments are affecting the tourism industry with a focus on the cruise industry. The final discussion of findings will try to conceptualise a picture of the future of the cruise market covering the next 15 years. The conclusion could give some references how to act to be prepared for the future.