Friday 11 May 2018

Third new expedition ship for Hapag-Lloyd

>#expeditioncruising



Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has been given approval to order a third expedition cruise ship by parent company TUI Group.

The newbuild will be a sister to the 230-passenger, ice-class ships Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration, which will both be delivered by Norwegian shipyard Vard in 2019. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will soon launch the planning and negotiation process for the vessel, which will be delivered in 2021.

"Thanks to its experience, competence and high-quality standards, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises offers great potential to attract new international customer groups and deliver stronger growth in the expedition cruise segment," said Fritz Joussen, TUI Group CEO, speaking at its annual Investors' Day onboard TUI Cruises' recently delivered Mein Schiff 1 in Hamburg, Germany on 8 May.

TUI Group opted to order the newbuild following strong growth by all three of its cruise brands. TUI Cruises grew its average passenger occupancy rate from 99.7% in 2016 to 98.9% in 2017, while Marella Cruises recorded steady 99.6% occupancy rates and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises saw its occupancy rate increase from 73.8% to 76.4%. All three brands will welcome new ships between 2018 and 2023.

"Forecasts for cruising are excellent," said Joussen. "German and European holidaymakers are beginning to embrace this way to travel. Due to demographic change, traditional target groups are growing. At the same time, sea voyages are becoming increasingly popular among families and younger people. The convergence of these two very promising trends will further accelerate growth over the next five to 10 years. And we are only at the beginning of this trend."

Source: Cruise and Ferry

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