SPECIAL FEATURE CRUISES
SPECIAL FEATURE CRUISES 19 Cruise Business Up 4.5% in 2017 Cruise tourism boomed in 2017 and will continue to grow in 2018 according to a new report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Created in 1975, the association represents over 50 cruise lines companies in all market segments, sea or river cruises. Altogether, CLIA members transported over 25.8 million passengers on 449 cruise ships last year. This represented a growth of 4.5% over 2016. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of passengers grew by 35%. The US market is still the largest source of the cruise industry, representing 11.5 million in 2016 (last available data). However, this number barely changed since 2014 (11.21 million passengers). The second largest market is now China. Although it only represented 2.1 million travellers in 2016, cruise ships have seen the total number of Chinese treble since 2014 (0.7 million). China overtook Germany, which generated 2 million cruise travellers in 2016. Among the five top markets are also British and Australian travellers, respectively generating 1.9 million and 1.3 million cruise trips. According to CLIA forecasts, the cruise industry will further grow in 2018 with 27 ships entering in service, helping to generate a new record of 27.2 million cruise travellers. Looking at the most popular regions for the cruise industry, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea remain cruise liners’ most visited destinations. In available lower berth day (ALBD), Caribbean Islands alone generated 35.4% of all cruises in 2017 while the Mediterranean Sea represented 15.8% of all cruise liners’ capacities. The rest of Europe, particularly cruises on rivers such as the Danube, the Rhine or the Elbe, generate 11.3% of all travellers’ movements. But Asia is gaining in importance. Between 2016 and 2017, Asian destinations market share grew from 9.2% to 10.4% of all cruise ships - 6% being generated by China alone Mein Shiff in Langkawi SCYLLA CRUISING IN THE FAST LANE Robert Reitsma CTO, Scylla Hall 10.2 / Stand 114 Swiss luxury ship maker Scylla is back at ITB to communicate with tour operators about its superior long-haul river cruise liners - and to promote some sustainable cruising innovations. Since 1974, Scylla has been launching high end cruise liners that sail the rivers and canals of Europe. From the first route down the Rhine, Scylla’s fleet of near 30 ships today navigate almost every major waterway in the Continent. We talk to company CTO Robert Reitsma about Scylla’s bespoke river cruising solutions. We build custom-made ships. This means that our clients, the tour operators, have a say about the design and the look of the ship that they charter. They can decide on the image of their ship by affixing their logo on the exterior side, and by determining the interior style and luxury level. That’s our secret to success. How and why is sustainability important in today’s industry? Sustainable enterprising is a key concept for us. For example, we shifted to a much greener diesel fuel. The ships are powered with GTL, a fuel produced by Shell that’s 25% cleaner than the cleanest diesel fuel. This means that our ships comply with nearly every legal norm for emissions for 2020. On our newest ship, the MS Robert Burns, we placed an adaptive autopilot that has the ability to refine the steering throughout the voyage. It means that less steering motions or rudder actions are required for operation, resulting in lower levels of speed reduction, minimal fuel consumption and therefore emission reduction. Please tell us a little more about your latest projects. In December the MS Robert Burns was finished and made its first Christmas cruise. The ship is the fourth in a line of multiple sister ships for one tour operator. At the end of 2018 we will have 30 ships in our fleet, which makes us the fastest- growing fleet in the river cruise business. How important is ITB as a platform for you to reach your potential clients and why? ITB Berlin is one of the most important fairs for us. Because we see the group and charter business increasing, 2018 will bring some new challenges, new designs and innovations. As we are operating in a big European market, ITB is an ideal spot to meet everyone. We want to share our story, our history, our plans for the future ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 8 th March 2018
