CE chair joins cruiseline heads on state of the industry panel

Hamburg not only pushed out all the stops to host Seatrade Europe this September but is also a major port in terms of the German market.

More than three million Germans now take cruises, with many ports benefiting from more ships being based in the region year-round.

The trend for year-round cruising, whether in the region, or as far afield as the Caribbean, is on the rise as Felix Eichhorn, president AIDA Cruises, explained: "Out of 11 ships, four are sailing year-round. There are many more ships in Northern Europe now than in the Mediterranean [compared to 10 years ago]." But he was keen to point out that: "Our challenge is to make sure we balance ships in ports".

Simone Maraschi, chair Cruise Europe and managing director Cruise Gate Hamburg, said: "Almost all our ports are working year-round. Winter cruising is no longer a niche."

Community engagement has become a hot topic recently and was also addressed by the panel. Wybcke Meier, ceo TUI Cruises, which is also building the German market exponentially, said: "We need the ports to tell the local communities what is the local contribution. We want them to say yes, we want the ships," but she added: "Too big ships should not call too small ports."

Maraschi said: "I think the level of transparency is crucial to building trust. The majority of our members are actively working with local stakeholders, not just on sustainability but guest value and experiences. Communities want to see now how each call contributes socially, environmentally and sustainably. Dedicated staff in cruiselines working on community engagement is new and good.There is still a long way to go to reach everyone in the industry."

With the theme of this year's conference being Future Forward, it is clear that everyone working together, from the stevedores to the cruiselines, is the answer to the industry's expansion. This it can only do with the full understanding and acceptance of the destinations visited.

One standout comment from Eichhorn was that one week on a new ship compares to a four-hour flight. AIDA Cruises later confirmed:"A week's vacation from Hamburg to Norway on a modern ship like AIDANova, causes emissions of around 300kgs of CO₂ per person. This corresponds approximately to a one-way flight from Hamburg to a European city such as Palma de Mallorca or Lisbon, depending on the airline and its capacity [ie a flight time of three to four hours."

Another topic that came up is that of funding. Meier said: "We need to make sure the funds we are paying are used to build infrastructure [for OPS, alternative fuels etc]." With Maraschi adding: "The ports are heavily investing in OPS but these costs cannot be funded by ports alone."