# Jobs boost for German cruise industry



## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

From the Meyer Werft website- 

_Papenburg. Today the ship will be floated up in the building dock for the first time.

The four new and innovative 68,500-gt ships will have a length overall of 252 m and will be 32.2 m wide. The AIDAdiva will be delivered to the owner in April 2007. The new club ships will present the third generation of ships built and operated according to the AIDA concept. 2,050 passengers will be accommodated in 1,025 cabins. The ships will feature plenty of interior design novelties such as the Theatrium. The well-known brand design regarding the outer appearance of the AIDA ships will be maintained. Hence, in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, MEYER WERFT will deliver one club ship each to AIDA, Germany’s leader in the cruise market.

Cruise industry creates jobs

The positive effect of the cruise industry on the job market in Germany and Europe is based on strong networking both among cruise operators and shipyards.

As far as ship operation is concerned, AIDA Cruises is clearly Germany’s market leader, with a market share of 35%. In 2005 AIDA welcomed 233,000 passengers on board, which is tantamount to an annual turnover of € 375 m for that year. Thanks to AIDA’s great success also the number of jobs on board and ashore has substantially increased: from a total of 460 in 1996 to 2,400 in 2006. A number of 5,000 jobs is forecast for 2010. The operation of the AIDA fleet as well as passengers’ shore excursions create jobs not only directly with the cruise operators and the yards but also indirectly with other parties. In Germany the annual turnover in this field amounts to approx. € 15 bn. 

Moreover, newbuildings, conversions and repairs for the AIDA fleet worth € 1.7 bn will certainly help safeguard thousands of jobs in the German maritime industry.

There is not only a network among cruise operators, but also among the shipbuilding industry. At present MEYER WERFT, counting among the market leaders in the construction of passenger ships, employs 2,300 people and ensures employment of another estimated 8,000 jobs with suppliers. All told, some 800 suppliers are involved in the construction of a ship like AIDAdiva. The construction of cruise ships is technically extremely challenging and calls for ever increasing new developments; as a consequence a lot of jobs and apprenticeships are created. The shipyard employs 200 apprentices per year.

Given an order book worth approx. € 4 bn plus an outsourcing share of 75 %, products and services amounting to some 3 bn are purchased. 70 % of all partner companies are from Germany. MEYER WERFT suppliers, for instance, build two large theatres on board every year that can accommodate more than 1,000 persons and are worth some € 10 bn.

The strongly growing cruise industry in Germany has provided a total of more than 40,000 jobs, creating an annual value of € 4 bn in the process. At the same time this branch is one of the few that are still growing. Over the last few years the annual growth was almost always two-digit.

Last year ocean cruising in the German market produced a passenger number of 639,000 and a turnover of € 1.22 bn (in 2004: 580,000 passengers, and a turnover of abt. € 1.15 bn). River cruising accounted for 326,000 passengers, which corresponds to a turnover of € 370 m.

At present the total international fleet comprises 282 cruise ships. 29 ships with more than 85,000 lower berths and totalling a value of € 14 bn are on order. In the worldwide river cruise market today 737 ships (EU: 177 ships) are in service._

See the Meyer Werft website for some good photos of the ship being built.

Rushie


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## aleddy (Apr 8, 2006)

*Job boost for Germain cruise industry*

Very interesting figures Rushie, do you have any figures comparing last centurys Passenger Liner numbers to the current Cruise Ship numbers.
I have a feeling that they might surprise a great many people.
Cheers 
Ted.


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## fred henderson (Jun 13, 2005)

*Cruise Industry*

Ted

Cruise industry statistics are very difficult to obtain. There has never been a passenger liner or cruise industry equivalent of the airlines IATA. The most dependable trade sources indicate that 16.9 million people embarked on a cruise in 2005. This is 9.5% up on 2004 and is at least double the maximum annual liner passengers in the Twentieth Century. The current annual gross tonnage of cruise ship deliveries is also double the peak liner deliveries.
It is thought that the 2005 world-wide cruise contribution to the economy was about $60 billion and about 600,000 jobs are created, directly and indirectly.
AIDA is of course part of the Carnival Group.

Fred


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