part i berths at the end of 2011 . there are approximately 10 ships with an estimated 34000 berths that are expected to be placed in service in the north american cruise market between 2012 and 2016 . europe in europe , cruising represents a smaller but growing sector of the vacation industry . it has experienced a compound annual growth rate in cruise guests of approximately 9.6% ( 9.6 % ) from 2007 to 2011 and we believe this market has significant continued growth poten- tial . we estimate that europe was served by 104 ships with approximately 100000 berths at the beginning of 2007 and by 121 ships with approximately 155000 berths at the end of 2011 . there are approximately 10 ships with an estimated 28000 berths that are expected to be placed in service in the european cruise market between 2012 and 2016 . 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 ( 3 ) weighted-average supply of berths marketed in europe ( 1 ) .
what is the annual average of berths per ship , from 2012-2016 , that are expected to be placed in service in the north american cruise market?
( 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 . 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 2007 through 2010 . year 2011 amounts represent our estimates ( see number 1 above ) . ( 3 ) source : european cruise council for years 2007 through 2010 . year 2011 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 . we compete with a number of cruise lines ; however , our principal 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 consum- ers 2019 leisure time . demand for such activities is influ- enced by political and general economic conditions . companies within the vacation market are dependent on consumer discretionary spending . operating strategies our principal operating strategies are to : and employees and protect the environment in which our vessels and organization operate , to better serve our global guest base and grow our business , order to enhance our revenues while continuing to expand and diversify our guest mix through interna- tional guest sourcing , and ensure adequate cash and liquidity , with the overall goal of maximizing our return on invested capital and long-term shareholder value , our brands throughout the world , revitalization of existing ships and the transfer of key innovations across each brand , while expanding our fleet with the new state-of-the-art cruise ships recently delivered and on order , by deploying them into those markets and itineraries that provide opportunities to optimize returns , while continuing our focus on existing key markets , support ongoing operations and initiatives , and the principal industry distribution channel , while enhancing our consumer outreach programs. .