By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Marine Hotel Association's annual conference opened in Barcelona with an introductory address by Helge Grammerstorf, MD of Sea Consult and director of CLIA Germany.
“River cruising in Europe is a steadily and fast growing niche market,” he said. The 260 river cruise vessels in Europe accounted for 12,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs, said Grammerstorf. Investment in newbuilds would total €1.1bn for 2013-2014, while passenger expenditure (both cruise costs and onboard revenue) would reach €1.3bn. Shoreside spend would add another €0.5bn. While much of the European river network was already exploiting its cruise potential, he said there were strong opportunities in the coming development of the Douro river in Portugal for river cruising.
“There is a trend for river cruise companies to copy ocean cruise operators in seeking to consolidate and combine the purchasing power of different companies,” Grammerstorf said, remarking that this would bring challenges for suppliers, as operators increased their purchasing power.
In general the outlook for the river cruise sector in Europe was promising, he said, especially as the decline in growth caused by the Arab Spring affecting Nile River cruises began to be addressed. The Russian river cruise market, however, continued to prove challenging due to restrictive visa policies, he added.