Cruise Gate Hamburg hosts record cruise traffic in 2016

Cruise Gate Hamburg (CGH) hosted a record 171 cruise ship calls and 710,000 passengers at Hamburg Cruise Center in Germany this year.

According to CGH, the increase in cruise traffic is partly due to the terminal operator’s close cooperation with Hamburg Tourismus and Hamburg Cruise Center.

“This is an excellent result given that this is the first year we are fully operational,” said Sacha Rougier, managing director of CGH. “Our work behind the scenes and the close dialogue with the cruise companies resulted in a record number of passengers in 2016. This strategy will pay off in 2017 and the coming years as well.”

Hamburg’s popularity is also bolstered by the annual two-day Hamburg Cruise Days event and the Blue Port Hamburg celebration.

“The strategic decision to stage the Hamburg Cruise Days, a spectator’s event, simultaneously with international industry events such as Seatrade Europe, a major European trade fair, strengthens Hamburg as a location for business and reinforces our city’s reputation as a centre of excellence for the international cruise industry,” said Michael Otremba, licensor of the event and managing director of Hamburg Convention Bureau and Hamburg Tourismus.

Next year, a record 10 cruise ships are expected to call in the city during the Hamburg Cruise Days event from 8-10 September. These will include AIDA Cruises’ AIDAprima, MSC Cruises’, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa and Europa 2, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 3, Phoenix Reisen’s Albatros and Amadea, Silversea Cruises’ Silver Wind, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Jade, and Plantours’ river cruise ship Sans Souci.

Hamburg is expected to welcome its largest number of cruise calls and passengers to date in 2017 – 200 arrivals and roughly 800,000 passengers. Highlights of the 2017 season will include maiden calls from Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Joy, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 6, Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas, MSC Preziosa and Silver Wind.