Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) established CLIA Germany at ITB Berlin 2013. The new national association will be headquartered in Hamburg and will be chaired by Michael Ungerer, CEO of AIDA Cruises. CLIA announced Jan. 30 that it would be expanding resources in Europe, and CLIA Germany will join CLIA UK and Ireland and CLIA Netherlands as a part of CLIA’s newly established global structure. CLIA Germany’s Leadership Council will be led by Ungerer, Michael Zengerle, managing director of MSC Cruises Germany as vice chairman, and Helge Grammerstorf, managing director of SeaConsult, as national director.
Meanwhile in America, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) posted a 3.5 percent increase in overnight visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches to a record-breaking 13.9 million overnight visitors in 2012, fueled by a 5.2 percent increase to a record 6.8 million international visitors and an increase of 1.8 percent to a record 7.1 million domestic visitors. This marks the third consecutive year of record overnight visitors to the destination.
A record $21.8 billion in visitor expenditures was generated in 2012, an increase of 5.1 percent over the previous year with international expenditures representing 70 percent of the total versus domestic. 2012 marked the fourth consecutive year of records on records for visitor spending.
The online front saw Passport Online reporting more than 200 percent growth in year-over-year January and February bookings for its Tandem cruise booking engine. The company also saw a nearly 100 percent growth in individual agency users. New functions added to the service allow agents to book Allianz trip insurance directly within the booking path and adding Tandem to TRAMS Live Connect allowing an agent to move customer profile data into the cruise booking process from Client Base and back.