result of the effects of the costa concordia incident and the continued instability in the european eco- nomic landscape . however , we continue to believe in the long term growth potential of this market . we estimate that europe was served by 102 ships with approximately 108000 berths at the beginning of 2008 and by 117 ships with approximately 156000 berths at the end of 2012 . there are approximately 9 ships with an estimated 25000 berths that are expected to be placed in service in the european cruise market between 2013 and 2017 . the following table details the growth in the global , north american and european cruise markets in terms of cruise guests and estimated weighted-average berths over the past five years : global cruise guests ( 1 ) weighted-average supply of berths marketed globally ( 1 ) north american cruise guests ( 2 ) weighted-average supply of berths marketed in north america ( 1 ) european cruise guests weighted-average supply of berths marketed in europe ( 1 ) .

Table:
year | global cruise guests ( 1 ) | weighted-average supply of berths marketed globally ( 1 ) | north american cruise guests ( 2 ) | weighted-average supply of berths marketed in north america ( 1 ) | european cruise guests | weighted-average supply of berths marketed in europe ( 1 )
2008 | 17184000 | 347000 | 10093000 | 219000 | 4500000 | 120000
2009 | 17340000 | 363000 | 10198000 | 222000 | 5000000 | 131000
2010 | 18800000 | 391000 | 10781000 | 232000 | 5540000 | 143000
2011 | 20227000 | 412000 | 11625000 | 245000 | 5894000 | 149000
2012 | 20823000 | 425000 | 12044000 | 254000 | 6040000 | 152000
( 1 ) source : our estimates of the number of global cruise guests , and the weighted-average supply of berths marketed globally , in north america and europe are based on a combination of data that we obtain from various publicly available cruise industry trade information sources including seatrade insider and cruise line international association ( 201cclia 201d ) .
in addition , our estimates incorporate our own statistical analysis utilizing the same publicly available cruise industry data as a base .
( 2 ) source : cruise line international association based on cruise guests carried for at least two consecutive nights for years 2008 through 2011 .
year 2012 amounts represent our estimates ( see number 1 above ) .
( 3 ) source : clia europe , formerly european cruise council , for years 2008 through 2011 .
year 2012 amounts represent our estimates ( see number 1 above ) .
other markets in addition to expected industry growth in north america and europe as discussed above , we expect the asia/pacific region to demonstrate an even higher growth rate in the near term , although it will continue to represent a relatively small sector compared to north america and europe .
competition we compete with a number of cruise lines .
our princi- pal competitors are carnival corporation & plc , which owns , among others , aida cruises , carnival cruise lines , costa cruises , cunard line , holland america line , iberocruceros , p&o cruises and princess cruises ; disney cruise line ; msc cruises ; norwegian cruise line and oceania cruises .
cruise lines compete with other vacation alternatives such as land-based resort hotels and sightseeing destinations for consumers 2019 leisure time .
demand for such activities is influenced by political and general economic conditions .
com- panies within the vacation market are dependent on consumer discretionary spending .
operating strategies our principal operating strategies are to : 2022 protect the health , safety and security of our guests and employees and protect the environment in which our vessels and organization operate , 2022 strengthen and support our human capital in order to better serve our global guest base and grow our business , 2022 further strengthen our consumer engagement in order to enhance our revenues , 2022 increase the awareness and market penetration of our brands globally , 2022 focus on cost efficiency , manage our operating expenditures and ensure adequate cash and liquid- ity , with the overall goal of maximizing our return on invested capital and long-term shareholder value , 2022 strategically invest in our fleet through the revit ad alization of existing ships and the transfer of key innovations across each brand , while prudently expanding our fleet with the new state-of-the-art cruise ships recently delivered and on order , 2022 capitalize on the portability and flexibility of our ships by deploying them into those markets and itineraries that provide opportunities to optimize returns , while continuing our focus on existing key markets , 2022 further enhance our technological capabilities to service customer preferences and expectations in an innovative manner , while supporting our strategic focus on profitability , and part i 0494.indd 13 3/27/13 12:52 pm .

Question: what was the percentage increase of the global cruise guests from 2008 to 2012
Answer: 21.2%
Calculation: subtract(20823000, 17184000), divide(#0, 17184000)