24 April 2026

Photo: AdobeStock_91769030 Ralf Gosch

A team led by Prof. Dr. Martin Spindler conducted a commissioned study to examine the economic significance of the cruise industry for Hamburg.

A study commissioned by the Hamburg Cruise Net e.V. business cluster and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg examines the cruise industry’s contribution to the value added of Hamburg’s economy in 2024. The authors—Martin Spindler, Professor of Statistics; Maximilian Knechtel; and Dr. Johannes Koenen of ARC Econ GmbH—analyzed official statistics and corporate data from Hamburg-based cruise lines as part of an input-output analysis. According to their findings, the cruise industry generates regional revenue of approximately 1.70 billion euros. The contribution to gross value added amounted to approximately 727.4 million euros. This corresponds to about 7,240 additional full-time jobs beyond direct employment in the cruise lines.

Looking at the figures for the years between 2018 and 2024, the economic impact of the industry in Hamburg has continued to grow. The annual number of passengers rose by more than 44 percent to around 1.3 million in 2024.

However, this is only one of the factors driving the sector’s observed growth in value added of around 73 percent, while Hamburg’s overall economic output, as measured by gross domestic product, has increased by only about 30 percent. As a home port and location for major shipping companies, their expenditures and investments account for more than 60 percent of the calculated value added in Hamburg, while slightly more than 20 percent is generated by the local spending of passengers and crew members. The remaining 20 percent stems from the export of specialized services in the field of ship management and events such as the Cruise Days in the Port of Hamburg and the Seatrade Europe trade fair.

The total value-added effect identified is comparable to recent study findings on the impact of the cruise sector in Barcelona.

“The study underscores the importance of the cruise industry for the city of Hamburg, breaks down the value added into individual sectors, and shows how disproportionately the entire sector has grown in recent years,” summarizes Prof. Spindler.

The study was presented at the Cruise Summit by the Senator for Economics, Labor, and Innovation, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, and stakeholders.

Further information can be found in the press release at hamburg.de, in the NDR report, and in the Hamburger Abendblatt.

This content has been translated automatically.