Cruise Industry Fair: Tips, trends and the future of cruise tourism
New ports, new routes, new shoreside excursions: Europe's cruise market is buzzing with activity. As for travel salespeople and travel agency employees, all those changes bring about extra work. Customers seeking advice in a travel agency have usually done their own preparatory research on-line. They expect their travel consultant to be well-informed and have some custom offers on hand.At Seatrade Europe – Cruise & Rivercruise Convention from 24 to 26 September 2013 at the Hamburg Messe fair site, exhibitors and visitors will find ideal conditions to brace themselves for this challenge and hear about future trends.
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The leading European fair of the cruise industry will bring together exhibitors and decision makers from all industry segments. "Managers will be present at the fair so visitors will get first-hand, accurate information about destinations," says Bernd Aufderheide, Chairman of the Board of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH.
"Hamburg offers unrivalled conditions for an international cruise industry fair. And Seatrade Europe is the ideal fair to learn about the most recent trends and destinations for the industry," adds Nadine Palatz, Marketing Manager at Hamburg Cruise Center (HCC). Her association will be represented at a joint booth of Hamburg Harbour organisations promoting Hamburg as a cruise port under the motto "Destination Germany". CruiseBritain will also present itself to the industry public at the fair. The umbrella organisation represents companies, the Cruise Line International Association UK & Ireland as well as VisitBritain, the official British tourism association, highlighting the appeal of the island nation and its 1200 kilometres of coastline as a holiday destination for cruise passengers.
Regions and associations exhibiting at Seatrade Europe for the first time include Abu Dhabi, Okinawa and Japan Tourism, the Turkish Cruise Association and the Association of Spanish Ports. The list of exhibiting ports is exceptionally long: More than 30 ports, including Amsterdam, Lisbon, La Rochelle, Tallinn, Bordeaux, Southampton and others, will stand ready at Seatrade Europe to answer visitor questions.
New Routes and Expeditions
The industry is offering numerous new and updated routes. Between the Mediterranean and the Arctic there are 65 different sea routes with more than 530 individual port destinations. According to an analysis by the German Travel Association DRV, last year's most popular sea cruise destination among Europeans was the western Mediterranean, followed by the Arctic region (Norway, Iceland, Spitsbergen, Greenland), the eastern Mediterranean, the Canaries, the Caribbean and the Baltic Sea. Several new European cruise ports were added this season, including Arendal and Brønnøysund in Norway as well as Bristol, Great Britain.
But cruise passengers can not only travel new routes at sea but on rivers, as well. For example, Phoenix Reisen, a tour operator based in Bonn, Germany, now offers three or five-day trial cruises on the Danube, the Seine or on Dutch or East Frisian waterways for first-time river cruise passengers. Dreamlines takes its guests on a trip up the Amazon in northern South America; 1A-Vista-Reisen travels the Mekong through Vietnam and Cambodia.
A new expedition cruise to the White Sea north of Russia is on the summer 2014 programme of French operator Compagnie du Ponant for the first time. The Number One operator on the French-speaking cruise market (encompassing France, Belgium and Switzerland) as well as Arctic and Antarctic routes is well-known for its luxurious ships and exotic expedition offerings.
The new route for the ship "Austral" will begin in Tromsø in northern Norway, pass the North Cape and head towards Murmansk, Russia. From there it will continue to a Pomor village near Cape Zeleny and to the Ludy and Solovetsky islands. The trip on board the 142 metre mega yacht continues via Arkhangelsk, around Kola peninsula and past the Sem islands through the Barents Sea to the Norwegian destination port of Kirkenes.
Land excursions – a more individual approach
Many operators have adopted new, specialised destinations for land excursions. MSC Kreuzfahrten offers bicycle tours for the first time. "MSC Magnifica", travelling mostly Northern European routes from Hamburg, has about 50 bicycles on board, including mountain bikes and e-bikes. The company offers 30 different shoreside excursions, such as a trip around Amsterdam's town canals ("Grachten") or a tour of Reykjavik.
The operator Star Clippers will begin offering cruises aboard sailing vessels taking to sea from Mallorca. Beginning in summer 2014, this new round trip will take passengers from the largest of the Balearic Islands via Formentera, Ibiza and Menorca back to Mallorca. Additional stops will be made in Valencia and Sant Carles de la Ràpita in Catalonia.
About Seatrade Europe
Seatrade Europe, the leading trade event of the European cruise and rivercruise industry, will be held at Hamburg, Germany's famous seaport on the Elbe river, from 24 to 26 September 2013. Industry decision-makers and professionals will meet to exchange ideas, set new trends and expand their business networks. Exhibitors include shipyards, classification societies, tourism organisations, ports and travel agencies.
