Hamburg is expecting a record 100 calls and more than 200,000 passengers this year, the latter showing a 57.7% increase on 127,000 in 2009. Passenger numbers at the port have doubled in just two years from 2008 according to Gerd Drossel, managing director Hamburg Cruise Center.
To date 17 cruise lines with 26 cruiseships have announced calls at the German port. Almost 94% of these are turnarounds. The close proximity of both large and small berths to the city centre is a major plus for the port.
In August 2009 the new berth in Altona was inaugurated. The foundation stone for the Altona terminal was laid on March 15. The city government is investing E30m in the terminal which has been designed by architects Renner Hainke Wirth and will be completed late this summer.
Economics minister Axel Gedaschko commented that this year’s cruise calls will “mean turnover for the Hamburger economy in two-digit million figures”. He added: “Hamburg will furthermore also profit from up-stream and down-stream effects for dockyards, supplier industries, fuel suppliers and catering and security firms, which makes the new cruiser terminal in Altona a very good investment indeed.”
