Main content
World Ports Conference Hamburg: AIDA President Michael Ungerer takes a stand for the expansion of port infrastructure
Rostock, 04. June 2015
On occasion of this year's World Ports Conference in Hamburg Michael Ungerer, President of AIDA Cruises and Chairman of Cruise Association CLIA, spoke to representatives of the main port cities in the world on June 4th, 2015.
Ungerer talked about the development of the cruise industry in the German market and economic impacts of this increasingly important industry. He focused particularly on the port of Hamburg, which has become one of the leading cruise destinations in Northern Europe. He also presented the opportunities and challenges associated with the growth of the cruise industry.
"The demand for cruises continues. Between 2014 and 2017 the capacity of German cruise lines will grow by 42.9 %. By 2016 we want to reach the 2 million mark in Germany and there may also be a further million guests on top in the upcoming 3 to 4 years," said Ungerer. However, this can only be achieved, if all responsible parties start to think about the necessary requirements today. "The existing infrastructures of the Year 2015 will not be sufficient for this," Ungerer underlines.
Another key issue in the cooperation between cruise companies and ports is the continuous improvement of environmental performance.
"Sustainable management and the consistent protection of the environment are the guarantee for being able to successfully offer cruises in the future," said Ungerer.
Overall, AIDA Cruises will invest around 100 million euros in environmental and climate protection until 2016 and thus bring new technologies like a comprehensive exhaust gas treatment system, onshore power supply and LNG operation on the road. With this pilot project for the energy supply of cruise ships using LNG while being berthed in ports, which is thus far unique worldwide, AIDA Cruises and Becker Marine Systems have opened a new chapter for environmental protection in the port of Hamburg on May 30, 2015.
15. December 2015
Costa Group is the first cruise company to start trialing humanoid robots
The Costa Group signed an exclusive agreement, worth more than a million euros, with the French company ALDEBARAN, a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group, for the use of "Pepper" robots. Pepper is the world’s first robot that reads main human emotions. He is ideally suited ... [more]
05. November 2015
Starting spring 2017 AIDAbella will be the first German cruise ship departing from Shanghai all year round
With AIDAbella, AIDA Cruises, Germany’s leading cruise company, will be stationing a ship in China all year round for the first time, offering cruises from Shanghai on the Chinese market. "AIDA would not be so successful today if we had not constantly ventured into new ... [more]
13. October 2015
AIDA Cruises: Cruise vacations “Made in Germany” for the Chinese market starting from spring 2017
From spring 2017, AIDA Cruises, Germany’s leading cruise line, will deploy one AIDA ship in China all year round to offer cruises from Shanghai for the Chinese market. The company announced this move at the China Cruise Shipping Conference, an annual industry gathering which ... [more]