Sustainable business

AIDA Cruises is one of Germany’s fastest growing and most financially successful tourism companies. In 2013, we employed a staff of 6,900 from 34 nations, 6,000 on board and 800 ashore in Rostock and Hamburg. As a cruise line and tour operator, AIDA Cruises operates and markets one of the most modern fleets in the world with ten state-of-the-art cruise ships (as of May 2014). The ships are operated in compliance with the highest international quality, environmental, and safety standards. The AIDA fleet will be expanded to 12 ships by 2016. AIDA Cruises is managed by Michael Ungerer (President) and Paul Soulsby (Senior Vice President Shared Services and CFO), who are remunerated according to their responsibilities and performance.

AIDA Cruises has been part of the Carnival group since 2003. Costa Crociere, the continental European Carnival subsidiary headquartered in Genoa is responsible for AIDA Cruises. As the subsidiary of a listed company, AIDA Cruises does not provide information on effectiveness, operating results or special corporate developments. Information on the performance of the Carnival group as a whole can be found in the Carnival Corporation Annual Reports.

The pillars of AIDA Cruises’ economic success are trust-based business relationships and strict ethical standards. The company has committed to this in its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The binding principles laid down in the code include: Our special promise of quality to our guests, a corporate culture based on respect and appreciation, fair business practices with our partners, suppliers and competitors, and a high degree of precision and integrity in business dealings. To prevent corruption, we sensitize employees to this issue in training sessions and familiarize them with the Carnival Corporation’s anti-corruption guidelines. The guidelines stipulate that all business relations with port authorities, suppliers and other third parties must be developed in accordance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In the 2013 reporting period, there were no infringements of any legal regulations.

Our employees and numerous partners play an important role in the economic success of AIDA Cruises. We work with 11,961 tourism partners in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, who support us in selling and marketing our cruises. Around 250 suppliers work for the hotel, wellness, and excursions divisions; 173 suppliers work for Food & Beverage; and 1,700 suppliers and service providers come from the areas of technology, new builds, and docks. We also cooperate with 229 port and excursion agencies in 260 harbors and 73 countries. We work with more than 15,300 partners worldwide. Last year we worked together to make it possible for 763,700 guests to enjoy the best time of the year on board our ships: their holiday. 

AIDA Cruises is headquartered in the Hanseatic city of Rostock – a merchant town steeped in history, marked by a climate of openness and internationalism thanks to the influence of the shipping industry. We carry on this tradition and contribute to the strength of the region as a whole thanks to the value added by our economic success.

In 2013, around 800 employees were working in the modern buildings in the historic city port. By summer 2014, up to 400 more employees will have taken up their new jobs in the new AIDA Home office complex currently under construction. The building is designed to meet top ecological standards. Geothermal energy, for example, is used for heating and air-conditioning.

We see AIDA Home as a commitment to our HQ in Rostock. As our company grows, so too does our need for qualified employees. We want to offer them an appealing working environment here in Rostock. And this benefits the whole region. That’s because we’re not only creating jobs, we’re also stimulating social, cultural and economic life in the area.

We also have around 100 employees working in Hamburg in our AIDA Entertainment division, where the entire entertainment program for the AIDA fleet is developed.

AIDA continues to grow: We are expanding our fleet, hiring new employees, and contracting with numerous local partners in Germany and in our 73 current destination countries.

The cruise industry is booming: With the maiden voyage of our tenth ship, AIDAstella, in March 2013, we once again saw a substantial increase in our number of employees on board. In 2013 a total of 6,000 employees from 34 nations worked aboard our ships, in addition to 900 employees in Rostock and Hamburg. With every additional ship we put into service, we create around 1,000 new jobs at AIDA Cruises.

According to a study by CLIA Germany – the German division of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) – and the German Travel Association (DRV), the German ocean cruise market generated a total of 2.88 billion euros in revenue in 2013. This calculation is based solely on travel receipts from/to the respective port. Since they account for around 12 percent of total revenues in the travel operator market, cruises are clearly an indispensable part of the tourism landscape and an important driver of growth in the German tourism market. Cruise lines create jobs and increase the added value in local markets. AIDA, for example, cooperates with local agencies to organize shore excursions, employs numerous local suppliers, makes purchases in the destination regions, and utilizes the services of local port agencies and harbors. As a study conducted by the CLIA shows, in 2012 the cruise industry in Germany generated around 45,600 direct and indirect jobs and paid 1.7 billion euros in wages.

In 2013, 93 percent of the total traffic attributed to cruise passengers took place at Germany’s three largest ports: Hamburg, Rostock/Warnemünde and Kiel. Hamburg is Germany’s largest cruise port and reported 552,459 cruise passengers last year. AIDA Cruises also played a considerable role in this successful track record with 70 calls at port in 2013.

The home port of AIDA Cruises in Rostock-Warnemünde also set a new record in 2013 with 483,000 passengers. A study conducted by the University of Rostock estimates that in the 2013 season, cruise passengers and crew members spent at least 14 million euros at local and regional retailers, hotels and restaurants, on public transportation, as well as on taxis and parking services in Rostock, Warnemünde, and the surrounding area. This does not even include the revenues that bus companies, rail service operators, shore excursion companies, utilities and waste management companies, ship brokers, pilots, and port operators generated as a result of the cruise industry.

The Hanseatic City of Hamburg is also benefitting from the growing cruise market and has reported an increase in added value. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce (IHK) estimates that the industry generated over 270.6 million euros in revenue for the city in 2013, which is 64 million more than two years ago.

According to the most recent survey by the Cruise Lines International Association Europe (CLIA), the cruise industry in Europe creates 327,000 jobs and contributes 37.9 billion euros to the economy each year. The number of cruises booked in Europe rose four percent from 2012 to 2013, which means that the European cruise market has doubled in just eight years. Germany is clearly well on its way to becoming the world’s second largest cruise market. According to a current study by the CLIA and the DRV, in 2013 the German market for ocean cruises grew 9.2 percent to a total of 1.69 million passengers. As the market leader, AIDA Cruises is the driving force behind the German cruise industry. With 763,700 guests, the number of passengers on board AIDA ships was up 20 percent compared to the previous year, meaning that AIDA Cruises grew at twice the rate of the overall market.

AIDA fundamentally believes that growth is a byproduct of sustainable business practices. At the same time, we strive to include our business partners, while focusing on our comprehensive quality concept. This means that we always think about the environment, society, our business partners, and the well-being of our guests when making business decisions. The products that we procure, use, and offer should be recyclable or reusable whenever possible. It is ideal if they are already made from recycled materials, since this protects our natural resources. In the long-term, our goal is to create a nearly complete circular economy in which waste is practically no longer produced. Comprehensive quality also means that the products that we and our business partners use are healthy and practical for their users. Because they contain recyclable resources, these products equally benefit the environment and the economy. In addition to technical efficiency, this comprehensive quality strategy is also the foundation of our sustainability concept – and the basis for our economic success in the future.