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European cruise market grew to 6.1 million passengers 2012

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 13 March 2013 13 March 2013

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Europe today announced from 29th annual Cruise Shipping Miami conference and exhibition that more Europeans than ever booked a cruise in 2012 with the number reaching a record of 6.139 million, a doubling of the European cruise market in just eight years.

The long term trend shows strong growth with a five-year annual average European passenger growth of 8 per cent. Similar to previous years four out of five Europeans chose to cruise in Europe, with the most popular destination the Mediterranean, which saw 3.5 million European passengers visiting the region. However, the noticeable trend in Europe was the increasing popularity of ‘cool water’ cruising in Northern Europe, which 10 per cent growth from 1.216 million to 1.333 million passengers.

Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, chairman of CLIA Europe said: “2012 was a strong year for the European cruise industry, especially in view of the challenges the year presented. The doubling in the number of Europeans booking a cruise in the past eight years reflects the fact that the European cruise industry provides quality, innovation, value and great range of choice. We very much look forward to seeing that growth continue this year, and the associated economic benefits that this will bring to Europe.”

Rob Ashdown, secretary general of CLIA Europe, added: “2012 was a record-breaking year for the cruise industry in Europe, which is contributing significantly to helping Europe maintain its position as one of the world’s top tourism destinations. It is one of the few sectors in Europe currently generating growth and the cruise industry generates employment for more than 315,000 people across Europe, from the shipyards and marine equipment producers to employment in ports and coastal communities. The continuing economic fragility in Europe continues to present challenges, but we are cautiously optimistic that the cruise industry will continue to grow in 2013.”

Key figures released by CLIA Europe:

· 6,139,000 European took a cruise in 2012, a new record.

· The UK still leads as the main source market.

· Germany grew of 11 per cent and is now 25 per cent of the European market share.

· France grew 9 per cent.

· The results from Italy and Spain, 9 per cent and 18 per cent drop respectively, reflect the deteriorating economic situation in those two countries, however, the five-year trend in every market remains positive.

· The number of Europeans booking a cruise has doubled since 2004, and increased by 38 per cent since the economic crisis began in 2008. Since the onset of the crisis the European economy grew by just 2.5 per cent and by 2.7 per cent in the eurozone (Eurostat 2013 - real GDP growth rate – volume).

· Four out of five European passengers chose a cruise in Europe

The Mediterranean remained the most popular destination but the big growth market in Europe was ‘cool water’ cruising Northern European which grew by 10 per cent.

• The industry in Europe generates over 315,000 jobs and over $48 billion of economic benefits annually.

AIDA Cruises to offer 86 night Japan to Germany voyage in 2015

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 12 March 2013 12 March 2013

A voyage from "the Land of the Rising Sun" to the Occident what sounds like a fairy tale is, in fact, the maiden voyage of AIDA Cruises new generation of ships. The company is publishing information about the 86-day voyage of the new AIDA vessel from 22 March to 16 June, 2015 in an exclusive brochure, also presenting initial details of its new generation of ships, AIDA Cruises said in a statement.

On this unique cruise from Japan to Germany, AIDA guests will get to visit 39 ports in 22 countries on 3 continents. To ensure ample time for discovery, the ship will even stop at some of the ports for a few days, e.g. at the Japanese ports, as well as in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Further highlights of the voyage include South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Sicily and Barcelona.

The ships of the new 2015/2016 AIDA generation offer their guests more room, more comfort and greater individuality, with a choice of 16 different cabin variations, for example.

In addition to excellent service, guests staying in the suites will have lots of space to move around. These suites will have a living area of up to 50 square meters, 2 bathrooms, a walk-in closet, as well as a sun deck with an area of up to 82 square meters.

The individual space concepts of the Panorama cabins are entirely suited to the needs of the guests. It goes without saying that each Panorama cabin will have its own veranda, including a sea view. Guests staying in the Panorama cabins will have exclusive enjoyment of the ultimate luxury of a private island on the patio deck. There they can relax on the protected sun deck with its oceanic landscape or enjoy a delicious sundowner at the Patio Bar with a view of the Captain.

The Lanai Deck 8, which accommodates the particularly spacious Lanai cabins, is named after the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The beautiful conservatory is like a living room flooded with light. Sliding open the large glass door then makes the veranda twice as big.

AIDA's new generation of ships will also set new standards with regard to protecting the environment from 2015. One innovation in the cruise sector is the MALS technology, for example. This enables the ship to glide on a cushion of air bubbles, leading to a substantial reduction in frictional resistance and, therefore, much lower fuel consumption

German cruise market grew 7% to 1.98 million passengers

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 08 March 2013 08 March 2013

The German cruise market grew by 7.1% to 1.98 million passengers in 2012 on high growth rate of ocean cruising and a slight fall in river cruise passenger count, figures gathered by Deutscher Reise Verband (DRV) show.

The market generate total revenues of €3.1 billion of which €2.6 billion came from ocean cruises. These attracted 1.54 million passengers last year, an increase of 11.2% on the previous year.

The river cruise market experienced a decrease of 5.4% in passenger volumes that reached 436,628 compared to 461,595 in 2011. The business generated revenues of €455 million, a fall of 8.2% year-on. DRV said in a statement.

CLIA sets up German organisation

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 06 March 2013 06 March 2013

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) today announced the establishment of CLIA Germany at the world’s biggest tourism fair ITB Berlin 2013. The new national association will be headquartered in Hamburg and will be chaired by Michael Ungerer, CEO of AIDA Cruises. This follows CLIA’s 30 January announcement of its expanded resources in Europe with CLIA Germany joining CLIA UK and Ireland and CLIA Netherlands as a part of CLIA’s newly established global structure.

Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, chairman of CLIA Europe, said: “We are very pleased to announce the establishment of CLIA Germany as part of CLIA’s new worldwide structure,” in his keynote speech, which introduced ITB’s Cruise Panel. “With the establishment of a German national association, the cruise industry can better support its members locally and ensure they benefit from CLIA’s global programmes in the second largest cruise market in Europe, one which has experienced substantial growth in recent years with the number of passengers growing from 1.2 million in 2010 to 1.4 million in 2011, a year-over-year increase of nearly 14 per cent.”

“The establishment of CLIA Germany further expands our presence in Europe, one of the most important markets for the global cruise industry,” said Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA. “With a significantly enhanced presence in Europe the cruise industry has never been better positioned to speak with one global voice.”

CLIA Germany’s leadership council will be led by Ungerer, Michael Zengerle, managing director of MSC Cruises Germany as vice chairman, and Helge Grammerstorf, managing director of SeaConsult, as national director. As part of CLIA’s unified structure, along with German cruise lines, all relevant European regional and global association members will have membership on CLIA Germany’s leadership council. Additionally, ex-officio seats will be provided to German Travel Association, German Shipowners Association, and the CLIA Europe secretary general.

CLIA Germany will be focusing extensive energies on strengthening its relationships with the travel agent community and the German Travel Association. Given this emphasis, Richard Vogel, CEO of TUI Cruises, who also serves as chairman of the German Travel Association’s Cruise Section, will be the cruise industry’s primary liaison to the travel agent community.

About the officers and staff:

Michael Ungerer, CEO AIDA Cruises, has held various positions in the marine tourism and hotel sectors. From 1993 to 1994, he was hotel director on the S/S Norway. He subsequently held executive positions with the Sonesta and Ritz-Carlton hotel chains before he took over the guest services department at AIDA Cruises in February 1997. He studied business management in Innsbruck and at the London Business School, as well as Hotel and Tourism Management at Schloss Klessheim , near Salzburg.

Michael Zengerle, managing director MSC Cruises Germany, started his career in 1990 at the Lufthansa AG in Frankfurt. From 1992 till 2011 he held several management positions in sales and marketing before he became managing director of the Euvia Travel GmbH. In 2002 he joined Norwegian Cruise Line as general manager for the continental European market. Recently he was general manager Europe at NCL till April 2011. In June 2011 Zengerle became managing director MSC Cruises Germany.

Richard J Vogel, CEO TUI Cruises, has been the chief executive of TUI Cruises GmbH since its formation in April 2008. He gained his first experiences in the tourism industry in 1984 in club hotels and after working as the manager of the ITC Club Calimera, he moved to the cruise business. In 1996 he was appointed managing director of Arkona Reisen, where he played a key role in bringing about and marketing the AIDA club ship concept. Richard J Vogel joined the TUI Group on 1 June 2005. In his position as director special projects he developed the strategy for entering the cruise volume segment before subsequently founding TUI Cruises in April 2008.

Helge Grammerstorf, managing director SeaConsult, started his career as an ordinary seaman and assistant officer. Finishing his study with a dissertation about “Financing of Cruise Vessels” and a final degree as captain and certified commercial engineer, he sailed onboard several cargo and passenger vessels in international services. After some years at sea he returned to working at land, following career stages at several shipping companies. Subsequently he was managing partner of Hanseatic Cruises and managing director of Deutsche Seetouristik, Rostock, and Arkona Reisen, Frankfurt, where he worked on introducing the first club vessel AIDA. Since 1997 Grammerstorf is managing owner of SeaConsult HAM GmbH, a consulting and research firm specialised in international cruise business and financing of cruise vessels.

Lindblad buys Orion Expedition Cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 06 March 2013 06 March 2013

Lindblad Expeditions, the US based expedition cruise operator, has announced that Australia's Orion Expedition Cruises would become part of its portfolio, with the move effective for itineraries from March 2014, Cruise Weekly reports in Australia.

Orion founder Sarina Bratton will leave the business when her current contract is completed on 19 April, and she said the move is "both amicable and timely".

Sven Lindblad, president and founder of Lindblad Expeditions, said "Sarina has created something quite wonderful in her nine years at the helm of Orion Expedition Cruises. We respect both her and her team immensely for what they have accomplished. It is our job now to ensure that the Orion travellers continue to receive remarkable travel experiences, both on Orion and our other ships," he said.

Lindblad partners with the National Geographic Society for expedition cruising, and owns five ships: the National Geographic Explorer, the National Geographic Endeavour, the National Geographic Sea Bird, the National Geographic Sea Lion and the National Geographic Islander. The company also charters five ships for seasonal expeditions: the Delfin II, the Lord of the Glens, the Oceanic Discoverer, the Jahan and the Sea Cloud.

"We are extremely excited about the opportunity to offer global expedition cruising to Australians and we intend to bring the full weight of our experience and that of National Geographic to the Orion organisation and the ship," Sven Lindblad said according to the report.