Cruise leaders presented to the Deutscher Bundestag Committee on Tourism public hearing on River and Ocean Cruises on 21 September 2022 to brief members on the state of the industry stands in the aftermath of the pandemic as well as progress on its sustainability goals.
Read our submission to the committee hearing (in German)September also saw the world leading maritime trade fair, SMM, take place in Hamburg, Germany.
Speaking at a partner dinner during the week, CLIA’s National Director in Germany, Helge Grammerstorf said: “Cruise ships are the driving force behind the development of new technologies and sustainable marine fuels, despite the fact that cruise ships account for less than one per cent of the global merchant fleet.”
Helge Grammerstorf underlined the “excellent co-operation between shipowners, shipyards, engine manufacturers, ports and classification societies, to name a few.”
“90 percent of our new ships in the next five years will be built in Europe, nine of them in Germany,” explained Marie-Caroline Laurent, CLIA’s Director General, Europe. This is an investment of more than 45 billion euros in Europe’s maritime industry and economy, she said. “Our future is clear: cruises are an integral part of the sustainable development of tourism in Europe and the world. We are committed to achieving our vision of net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Laurent affirmed.
Host Grammerstorf welcomed to the event Magda Kopczyska from the EU Commission, Hamburg’s former Senator for Economic Affairs, Frank Horch, Costa Group and Carnival Asia CEO Michael Thamm, TUI Cruises CEO Wybcke Meier, AIDA President Felix Eichhorn, Achim Wehrmann from the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, Dr. Reinhard Lüken, Chief Executive of the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association (VSM), Daniel Hosseus, Chief Executive of the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS), Tino Klemm, CFO Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and Hamburg’s Messe CEO Bernd Aufderheide, as well as representatives of the most important suppliers, service providers and travel organisations in European cruise.
The event was supported by the trade fairs Seatrade Europe, Marine Interiors, the disinfection equipment supplier Steripower Cruise and the Papenburg-based Meyer Werft shipyard.
• From left to right in image above:
Sönke Diesener (NABU), Susana Pereira-Ventura (VERDI), Dr. Sascha Gill (IG RiverCruise), Felix Eichhorn (AIDA Cruises), Helge Grammerstorf (CLIA), Michael Ungerer (MSC), Christian Hein (MSC), Wybcke Meier (TUI Cruises)