The Growing River Cruise Industry
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Annex 3 to 16/InConf/Briefing The Growing River Cruise Industry The Rapid Growth of the River Cruise Industry 1. Unlike deep-ocean cruises, the modern river cruise industry largely didn’t exist 30 or even 20 years ago. Privately owned and operated river ships were available to those wanting to sail down the Main or Danube, but these could be prohibitively expensive and were almost always operated on barge- style ships holding just a handful of passengers. 2. In 2000, the river cruise industry was dominated by some familiar names like Viking and Uniworld as well as the now long-gone Peter Deilmann Cruises and direct-to-consumer stalwart Grand Circle Travel. 3. Today, there are many more players and many more approaches to doing business. In 2015, the major players in Europe included Viking, Uniworld, Avalon, Ama, Tauck, Grand Circle Cruise Lines and the French company CroisiEurope. Viking River Cruises operates a fleet of more than 70 ships worldwide, of which 64 vessels as of 2015 in Europe, 3 ships in Russia, 3 in Asia, 2 in Egypt and is planning to introduce 2 ships in USA next year. 4. Over the last decade the river cruise fleet increased from 700 to about 850 ships worldwide, the capacity from about 100,000 to 120,000 beds, and shipboard crew positions possibly from 30,000 to may be 35,000, of which around at least 15,000 in Western and Central Europe. IG RiverCruise reported 12,000 employed on board their ships in 2014. 5. Ten years ago the Western and Central European fleet was third behind the Nile and Russia. Today the river cruise industry is booming in Europe and first overall with more than 325 ships. In total, the European river market recorded 1.33 million passengers in 2015, up 20.4% from the previous year, with more than 50% coming from North America. More than 110 river cruise ships are registered in Switzerland. 6. Passenger capacity on the main European rivers is also increasing, new operators emerge, the old ones (world’s largest river cruise lines) renovate regularly or expand their fleets by building larger, new-generation boats. 7. Shipyards in Europe benefit from the increase in passenger numbers. 31 new ships were commissioned in the European river cruise market in 2014 followed by another 30 new ships in 2015. In addition, existing vessels are also being refurbished. 8. Russia is experiencing stagnation and number of ships fell down to 130. Viking River Cruises operates 6 ships while the others are mostly Russian owned like Vodohod with 19 ships, of which 10 serve foreign tourists, and Mosturflot with 6 vessels. 9. Total number of ships operating in SE Asia and China and serving foreign tourists is 116. The majority of them are in China but there are also significant numbers on Mekong River, passing through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam and Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. 10. The situation in China, where most ships are on river Yangtze, seems to be slightly better than Russia with the number of ships stable at around 120, of which nearly half serve foreign tourists. More than 60 vessels operate cruises along the Yangtze from Shanghai through China’s heartland and the number of international passengers is around 150,000. Major companies are Yangtze Gold Cruises, Page 1 of 4 Annex 3 to 16/InConf/Briefing Wuhan Yangtze River Cruise Co, (8 ships), CCOTC, Wuhan (5ships), Century Cruises Co.(7 ships). Viking River Cruise is the only notable foreign company presented. 11. Due to the political situation in Egypt the river cruise industry crashed and even if the number of ships stayed stable at 275 there is high probability that approximately 50% of them are laid up or taken out of service. The Nile tourism amounted to 1.2 million passengers in 2007 but is assumed to be much lower today. There are five major shipowners with 10 or more ships – Travcotel, Spring Tours, Shalakamy Nile Fleet, Seti First Travel and Blue Sky Nile Cruises and further five operators with six to eight ships. 12. The number of river cruise ships in South America is very small and although increasing they are mostly small boats with less than 40 beds on the Amazon in Brazil. Like on the Yangtze River a lot more ships on the Amazon Rivers are used for public transport and much less for tourists. In the lower sector of Amazon delta the demand is met by the visiting sea-going cruise ships in the most pleasant seasons. The biggest operators in Brazil are Amazon Clippers and Amazonia Expeditions, while there are also some activities taking place in Peru and Bolivia. 13. There is little information available about the situation in USA. American Cruise Lines and the American Queen Steamboat Company with 8 ships seems to be better known companies on the Mississippi in the USA. Viking River Cruises are shortly to introduce ships too. Number of river cruise ships worldwide Rest of Region Europe Russia Africa Total World No of Ships 2004 164 166 281 96 707 No of ships 2007 195 157 285 101 738 No of ships 2010 216 150 288 95 749 No of ships 2012 243 145 287 107 782 No of ships 2014 293 133 274 116 816 No of ships 2016* 325* Source: Hader &Hader 2015; *ITF estimate Number of beds Rest of Region Europe Russia Africa Total World No of beds 2004 20,400 31,500 13,100 No of beds 2007 22,300 31,300 32,500 14,600 102,000 No of beds 2010 28,900 27,200 33,200 14,200 102,200 No of beds 2012 33,600 26,300 32,900 16,000 108,700 No of beds 2014 42,100 24,900 31,700 17,900 116,600 No of beds 2016* 48,000* Source: Hader &Hader 2015; *ITF estimate Page 2 of 4 Annex 3 to 16/InConf/Briefing Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) 14. CLIA cruise line members currently deploy 170 river cruise ships with 18 new river cruise ships on order for 2016, an increase of more than 10 percent. IG RiverCruise 15. The main association representing the interests of the river cruise shipowners in Europe is IG RiverCruise based in Basel, Switzerland. It represents the diverse interests of the main river cruise shipping companies in Europe. It was founded in 2000 by three Swiss shipping companies, has since become a registered association with headquarters in Basle and now represents 19 companies with over 200 ships. ITF Response - ITF/ETF River Cruise Ships Organising Project 16. Following the decision by the ITF Durban Congress in 2006, a joint ITF/ETF River Cruise Organising Project started in late 2007. The initial task for the project team was to gather the necessary information about the nationalities, the contractual and working conditions of the crew, to map the companies and charters of the ships. The second phase of the project was to gain representation among the crew and negotiate the contracts/CBA with the owners of the vessels. It was followed by more on the ground activities like weeks of actions and ship visits in Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Austria. A river cruise inspector was appointed in 2013, Werner Kiepe from Verdi in 2013—2014, followed by Ruud Touwen, Nautilus International, NL/FNV Havens in 2015 and beginning of 2016. Consultations are underway at the moment about the appointment of new inspector following the retirement of Ruud Touwen. 17. It was further agreed at the ITF Congress in 2014 that the affiliates and ITF/ETF Secretariats would work together to achieve an EU model agreement to be negotiated and made applicable to all or most major river cruise operators of the sector. 18. The ETF initiated negotiations for a collective agreement with the European trade association IG RiverCruise. Following an initial positive response from some employers, IG RiverCruise has withdrawn from talks due to the opposition of leading companies. The ETF has now embarked on a project to conclude agreements with individual companies or groups of companies. 19. Nautilus Switzerland began a campaign to organise and represent the crews employed by Viking River Cruises following dispute on the way wages are paid in the beginning of 2015. It led to a considerable number becoming union members but further negotiations with the company were put on stand by waiting the outcome of the numerous labour court cases in Switzerland. 20. The 2016 campaign started in April 2016 when concentrated ship visits took place in Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Bulgaria in order to reach out to crewmembers during the week of action. 21. The ultimate aim of the project is to secure that all crew members on board river cruise ships operating on European inland waterways are entitled to: a. A clear written and legally enforceable individual contract of employment. b. Fair salaries, paid regularly and in full, of not less than a net payment of 800€. Page 3 of 4 Annex 3 to 16/InConf/Briefing c. Social security provisions in accordance with the European agreements concerning inland waterway employees, in the state where the economic control over the vessels is situated. d. Fair and non-discriminatory accident, health and sickness insurance coverage including free medical care and access to medical facilities on shore. e. Travel expenses to and from the ship at the beginning and end of the season at the employer expense. f. Crew cabins with no more than 2 persons per cabin and not more than 4 people should share a shower or a toilet.