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CLIA guides tourism students through the world of cruising and celebrates 2023 as “the European Year of Skills”

The opportunity to get onboard Mein Schiff 6 cruise ship of TUI Cruises at the Port of Piraeus in Greece, and to be informed about career opportunities in the cruise business and industry’s actions on sustainability, was given to Hospitality and Tourism Management students of BCA College, on Friday, April 7 by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in cooperation with TUI Cruises.

This educational ship visit is part of CLIA’s priority to engage with students and young people who are interested in the dynamic cruise industry and raise awareness about its significant and growing impact on the economy and employment at global, European, and local level.

Maria Deligianni, CLIA’s National Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, stated: “Seeing is believing. We want to offer to the students the opportunity to experience what cruising is about”. And added: “2023 is the European Year of Skills and we want to contribute to the development of skills in our industry. As a cruise industry we are sailing to a better future, and these young students are our future”.

As part of the same initiative, on Tuesday April 4, Maria Deligianni visited BCA College and spoke to Shipping students about the international cruise industry and how it sails sustainably.

The cruise industry offers a high-quality work environment with competitive wages and benefits, as well as training for crew members to perform jobs skillfully and advance on a rewarding career path.

The CEO of TUI Cruises Wybcke Meier stated: “The cruise business offers a wide variety of career opportunities. They range from purely maritime jobs, to hotel operations including healthcare majors, cooks and entertainment specialists, and to ground handling, shore excursion providers and travel and shipping agents as well as the people in the office. We were delighted to co-host with CLIA this cruise ship visit onboard our Mein Schiff 6 and inform the students about the career paths offered by our industry”.

CLIA member cruise lines employ a multinational workforce. Often more than 60 nationalities may be working together onboard ship at any one time.

“It is a source of pride for the industry to employ so many people from different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. Multinational crews work together with respect in safe working environments to deliver the guest experience that is unique to a cruise holiday”, said Maria Deligianni.

Cruise also provides the most advanced opportunities for women in maritime, as 94% of women seafarers across the world are working in the cruise industry. At the same time, the industry is remarkable for its job satisfaction levels, which are reflected by the strong employee retention rates at upwards of 80%.

It is worth noting that, according to the latest CLIA data, the cruise industry generates annually more than 1,1 billion euros to the Greek economy and supports 15,100 jobs (2021 figures). Looking ahead and at global level, the cruise sector is expected to move closer to 2019 levels in 2023 with passenger volume forecast to reach 27 million to 33 million cruisers globally, a global contribution to the economy of $155B and more than 1.2M jobs and $50B in wages.