CLIA cruising in new waters in Germany

At this year’s ITB Berlin, CLIA announced that it was establishing CLIA Germany — a new national association that will be headquartered in Hamburg and will be chaired by Michael Ungerer, CEO of AIDA Cruises. The move follows CLIA’s Jan. 30 announcement which outlined its plans to expand its resources in Europe with CLIA Germany joining CLIA UK and Ireland and CLIA Netherlands as a part of CLIA’s newly established global structure. Christine Duffy, president and CEO of CLIA, said that, “The establishment of CLIA Germany further expands our presence in Europe, one of the most important markets for the global cruise industry. With a significantly enhanced presence in Europe the cruise industry has never been better positioned to speak with one global voice.” In his keynote address introducing the ITB’s Cruise Panel, CLIA Europe’s chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio said that, “With the establishment of a German national association, the cruise industry can better support its members locally and ensure they benefit from CLIA’s global programs in the second largest cruise market in Europe, one which has experienced substantial growth in recent years with the number of passengers growing from 1.2 million in 2010 to 1.4 million in 2011, a year-over-year increase of nearly 14%.” Go to http://www.cruising.org for more.