Jens Skrede outlines the challenges and opportunities facing Cruise Europe members
By
Guest |
This article was first published in the Autumn/Winter 2015 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review.
After many years of growth – both in number of calls and visiting passengers – a few of our member ports report a slight dip in the number of cruise calls for 2015. However, due to the size of ships, the number of passengers remains the same or indeed has increased for most ports. Feedback from our members indicates that the number of bookings will increase again from 2016 onwards.
The reported order book of newbuilds makes very interesting reading. At the moment around 40 new cruise ships look to be coming into the market over the next 5-7 years. The majority are large ships – 300m and 100,000gt or more. Some of the newbuilds are considerably larger than this.
This represents both a great opportunity and a challenge for the ports and destinations in Northern and Atlantic Europe. Our 118 members are keen to offer the cruise lines the right level of infrastructure to attract the ships. The Cruise Europe monthly newsletter regularly brings stories about port development from all corners of Europe, showing the industry that the ports in our region are investing in infrastructure in order to remain competitive also in the future.
However, the challenge is to retain the balance between investment in infrastructure and getting return on the investment while remaining competitive. By building new ships, the cruise lines demonstrate their confidence in the industry, and the ports have to be equally optimistic in their investments into the sector, which brings so much employment and revenue into the Cruise Europe region.
We can offer the cruise lines a super blend of large and modern turnaround ports combined with very attractive ports of call, very often situated close to each other, reducing the steaming time and costs for the lines. If we add that Northern and Atlantic Europe is a very safe region without major geopolitical issues, an all-year cruise destination including world-famous regions and cities, there are many reasons to remain optimistic about the future for our 118 members in ‘Europe north of Gibraltar’.
Supporting the growth in this region, the ESPO Cruise and Ferry port network is also now in full flow. Five working groups are developing codes of best practice, focusing on five different topics.
Regarding Cruise Europe’s trade show presence, over the last two years we have had a large pavilion in Miami, exhibiting with 14 of our members in a vibrant stand in a very central location. At Seatrade Europe in Hamburg this September we have an 84sqm pavilion, where our members Amsterdam Cruise Port, the French Atlantic Ports, Riga and Tallinn will also have their stands. We will also host the traditional Cruise Europe reception, this time sponsored by Columbus Cruise Center. For the first time we will have the presentation of the German Cruise Awards during our event.