Hapag-Lloyd Cruises to focus on the luxury and expedition segments

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 07 September 2012 07 September 2012

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has announced its future strategy will be focused on luxury and expedition cruises and is looking to grow these segments by expanding its international marketing activities. The newly-built Europa 2 – "sister ship" to the existing EUROPA – will be positioned in the 5-star luxury segment as of May 2013. In addition to the Hanseatic and Bremen in the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet, growth opportunities in the expedition segment will be identified and evaluated.

In German-speaking countries, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is regarded today as one of the leading operators in the luxury and expedition segment. The expansion of marketing activities in international markets goes hand-in-hand with the focus on the areas of luxury and expedition. "By consistently focusing on these two pillars, we strive to enhance further our strength and our leading position as regards quality in these segments and at the same time we will address new markets," explains Dr. Wolfgang Flägel, Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. 

Selected cruises aboard all of the ships of the present fleet, except for the Columbus 2, will be marketed internationally. "With Europa 2, we will put into service a ship designed to offer an international flair and address a sophisticated, cosmopolitan target group, planning in future to increase market share in English-speaking countries such as the USA, UK, Belgium and the Netherlands," adds Flägel. The first English-language EUROPA 2 brochure is due to be published in mid September. 

Columbus 2: The Hamburg-based operator has taken over operation of the Columbus 2 from Oceania Cruises in the context of a two-year charter contract through to April 2014.

North American cruise industry economic impact $40.4 billion in 2011

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 07 September 2012 07 September 2012

 

The North American cruise industry continued to expand its contribution to the US economy in 2011 according to an independent study commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Direct purchases by CLIA’s 26 member lines and their passengers and crew totalled approximately $19 billion resulting in $40.4 billion in total economic impact. The related cruise industry spending generated nearly 350,000 jobs paying $16.5 billion in wages to American workers.

After a strong rebound in 2010 from the recessionary impacts of 2009, the North American cruise industry continued to expand in 2011 at a pace that matched the growth for key operating metrics the previous year. The continuing expansion allowed the industry to reach new highs for capacity and the number of passengers sailing on CLIA member cruise lines, with the North American cruise industry outpacing the growth of overall economic activity in the USA continued to be the economic driver for the industry, providing close to two-thirds of all global passengers and 60 percent of all cruise embarkations.

Christine Duffy, CLIA’s president and CEO, said: “In this uncertain economic environment, we are pleased to demonstrate the importance of the North American cruise industry to the US economy in creating jobs and positively impacting the residents of all 50 states through direct and indirect spending.

“These findings are further evidence that the industry’s ability to provide outstanding choice and value that resonate strongly with consumers work in beneficial ways for the country’s economy as well.”

“The Contribution of the North American Cruise Industry to the US Economy in 2011” was prepared for CLIA by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) of Exton, Pennsylvania. The key findings include:

Total economic impact on the US economy grew by 6.8 percent to $40.42 billion in 2011, with direct spending by the cruise industry growing by 4.8 percent to $18.9 billion; total employment grew by 5.4 percent to 347,787 and wages and salaries jumped by 8.3 percent in 2011.

The North American cruise industry benefited every state economy through direct purchases of goods and services, with approximately 80 percent of the impact concentrated in ten states – Florida, California, New York, Texas, Alaska, Washington, Georgia, Massachusetts, Illinois and Colorado.

#1 Florida cruise passenger and crew visits totalled 8.94 million in 2011, a 2.6 percent increase, with direct spending of $6.7 billion and 130,950 jobs that generated $5.76 billion in income.

#2 California cruise passenger and crew visits totalled 979,000, generating $1.86 billion in direct spending and creating 42,254 jobs that paid $2.3 billion in wages.

#3 New York, with 896,000 passenger and crew visits, accounted for 6.6 percent of the industry’s direct expenditures ($1.25 billion), generating 16,608 jobs paying $944 million in income.

#4 Texas received just over $1.12 billion in cruise industry direct spending, creating 17,316 jobs paying $917 million in income.

#5 Alaska received just over 4.8 million passenger and crew visits in 2011, a 1.4 percent increase over the previous year, which accounted for 5.4 percent of the industry’s direct spending ($1.02 billion generating 22,493 jobs paying $962 million in wage income.

Worldwide, 16.3 million people took cruise vacations on CLIA member lines in 2011, an increase of 10.1 percent over the previous year. US cruise passengers totalled 10.4 million, or 63.5 percent.