10 KEYNOTE Charting a path to net zero AIDA Cruises has long been a trailblazer when it comes to sustainability. President Felix Eichhorn gives Susan Parker an insight into the Carnival Corporation brand’s quest to reach net zero by 2050 One of Carnival Corporation’s eight cruise brands, AIDA Cruises is now the third-largest tour operator in Germany. In 2024, it achieved a record year in terms of turnover and guest numbers (which hit 1.5 million). “Despite all the crises and economic challenges, Germans are keen to go on holiday more than ever,” says Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA. “Holidays are being booked even earlier than in previous years. The cruise product is becoming increasingly attractive compared to land-based holidays due to its unbeatable price/experience ratio. We are seeing strong demand for cruises from German ports in particular. In summer, this accounts for almost 80 per cent of our guest volume. Cruises are the growth driver in tourism as a whole in Germany and the engine for employment. Nevertheless, cruises are still a niche market.” Germans collectively take over 100 million holidays per year, but only three million of them cruise annually, which Eichhorn says means there is plenty of potential for cruise market growth which, he says, is only limited by the available capacity. Nevertheless, he believes “that the German cruise market will break the four million guest mark within the next 10 years”. Growing the brand goes hand in hand with minimising the brand’s carbon footprint, says Eichhorn. “Shaping decarbonisation in practice is the greatest challenge facing our society. AIDA Cruises has a clear roadmap and is aiming for net-zero emissions in our fleet’s shipping operations by 2050. As a pioneer in the cruise industry, we have been investing in and utilising innovative environmental technologies for many years.” The company is already doing more than is required by current industry regulations and recognises that there is no single solution for green shipping. However, its strategy is focused around five pillars: fleet optimisation, energy efficiency, efficient route planning, new technologies and alternative fuels. To drive forward and implement its decarbonisation roadmap, AIDA has pooled its scientific and technical expertise into a decarbonisation department, which has been based at subsidiary Carnival Maritime in Hamburg, Germany, since spring “ Shaping decarbonisation in practice is the greatest challenge facing our society”
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