Brussels, 28/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Results relating to the cruise sector bring a whiff of optimism to a crisis-ridden Europe. On Tuesday 26 June, in Brussels, the European Cruise Council (ECC) unveiled its results for 2011: - strong growth (+54% since 2006) and a sizeable contribution to the European economy through naval shipbuilding contracts worth €12 billion by 2016. Also, the cruise industry means that 5.6 million passengers spend money in European ports (an increase of 7.1% compared to 2010), and that a contribution is made to employment with over 315,000 jobs. It makes one's head spin just to imagine such figures as, for example, Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas and other European officials who attended the ECC's annual conference found.
Good results but … Siim Kallas hailed the cruise industry's good news saying: “In these very difficult times, such figures are quite extraordinary” and “the cruise industry continues to grow and the total contribution to the European economy is at a record high”. The chairman of the parliamentary committee for transport and tourism, Brian Simpson (S&D, UK), noted that “not only is a healthy and thriving cruise sector important in terms of supporting Europe's shipbuilding industry - the vast majority of the world's cruise ships are built in European yards so it is important for a great deal of skilled jobs in Europe”. Despite the good results of the cruise industry, ECC President Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio does not hide the fact that the sector is faced with certain challenges due to the crisis, such as political uncertainty and surging oil prices. He therefore calls for a “combined effort by industry and regulators to overcome these issues so that the steady growth the sector has experienced over the last decade continues”.
Costa Concordia and safety. The ECC president said, however, that it was too soon for the impact of the Costa Concordia disaster this year to be translated into figures. He gave his assurance that the “industry is well positioned to continue its growth”, particularly as additional safety provisions are being set in place after the operational safety review initiated in the cruise sector pursuant to the disaster. Such measures were presented at the annual conference and relate to the registration of passengers' nationality, emergency instructions and directions for gathering at muster stations. (MD/transl.jl)