Hamburg is reporting more cruise passengers than ever before, and even more are expected this year.
Last year, around 1.3 million passengers were counted in the Hanseatic city, 100,000 more than in 2023 and a new record. Cruise ships moored in Hamburg a total of 266 times; the economic authority has now announced.
This makes Hamburg by far the most important cruise destination on the German coast. Kiel counted 1 million travellers, Warnemünde 532,000 and Bremerhaven a good 300,000.
“Maritime tourism is also playing an increasingly important role as an economic factor for us,” said Senator for Economic Affairs Melanie Leonhard (SPD). This year, the city’s own cruise company, Cruise Gate Hamburg, is again expecting an increase: almost 300 ships and a corresponding rise in passenger numbers are expected.
Significantly more shore power will also be used during berthing times. According to the economic authority, a total of 6.5 GW of electricity was supplied from shore to 129 ships.
Another cruise terminal is due to open this year – directly in Hafencity. It covers an area of 10,000 m², including two basement levels with a bus and cab terminal and two levels for passenger handling. It offers two berths with shore power connections.
According to Cruise Gate Hamburg, the cruise sector is an important economic factor for Hamburg with around 4,500 jobs and a contribution to gross value added of €419.7m.
