7. PASSENGER TRANSPORT

• The number of active river cruise vessels in 2023 reached 408, representing 60,702 beds in total (compared to 410 active vessels for 60,639 beds in 2022). The newbuilding activity has been rather slow since the Covid-19 pandemic, with only four being built in 2023, but it is expected to pick up again in 2024 and 2025.
• In 2022, the Russian full-scale invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine led to an increase in demand for hotel capacity for war refugees, and to some river cruise vessels being used as floating hotels in parallel to their usual cruising activities. Some older vessels have even been permanently converted. This trend continued in 2023, with 16 vessels having been permanently converted into floating hotels in 2023 compared to only six in 2022.
• The yearly cruise vessel movement figures for the Danube, Rhine and Moselle, as well as the catch-up phenomenon for capacity utilisation on the Danube in 2023, confirmed the general recovery of the river cruise sector in Europe. In addition, 1.22 million passengers from all over the world, notably from USA and Canada, travelled on European rivers in 2023, the Rhine and the Danube being the most frequented rivers in Europe.

FLEET FOR RIVER CRUISES⁴⁵

• The active river cruise fleet in Europe,⁴⁶ which represents more than 40% of the world active river cruise fleet, is mainly concentrated on central European waterways,⁴⁷ accounting for nearly 75% of the total river cruise fleet in Europe. In 2023, the number of active river cruise vessels in Europe reached 408,⁴⁸ representing 60,702 beds in total, compared to 410 active vessels with 60,639 beds in 2022.
• Despite the Covid-19 pandemic coming to an end, the new building activity for river cruises remained rather slow in 2022 and 2023 but is expected to pick up again in 2024 and 2025. Despite a sharp decrease in inflation, the newbuilding activity continued to decline in 2023 due to persistently high shipbuilding costs as well as lower demand caused by geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
• The Russian full-scale invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine has spurred an increase in the demand of hotel capacity for war refugees from Ukraine, adding to an already rising number of people asking for asylum in Europe. As a result, some vessels, in parallel to their cruising activities outside the main touristic seasons, are being used as floating hotels. Some vessels, particularly those that are more than 50 years old, have even been permanently converted to floating hotels; this was the case for six vessels in 2022 and 16 in 2023. In early 2024, 18 such vessels were declared; it is unknown whether they will return to the cruise market.

 

FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF RIVER CRUISE VESSELS IN THE EU BY REGION OF OPERATION (2004 – 2024) *


Source: A. Hader, The River Cruise Fleet Handbook (May 2024)
* 2024: based on order books as of May 2024, of which 18 are temporarily being used as floating hotels.

 
• During the 2023 season, four new vessels were built (compared to five in 2022), as was planned in the order books and confirming the downward trend observed over the last years. However, seven new vessels are planned to be delivered in 2024, which might mark the start of a return to newbuilding, and this figure is even expected to double in 2025.

  

FIGURE 2: NEW RIVER CRUISE VESSELS FOR THE EUROPEAN MARKET 2004-2025 *


Source: A. Hader, The River Cruise Fleet Handbook (May 2024)
* 2024 and 2025: based on order books as of May 2024

 
• In 2023, the four new vessels brought an additional capacity of 720 beds (compared to 980 beds in 2022) to the river cruise market in Europe. An additional capacity of 1,056 beds is expected for the year 2024.

 

FIGURE 3: NEW CRUISE CAPACITIES FROM 2020 TO 2024 PER REGION OF OPERATION (NUMBER OF BEDS) *


Source: A. Hader, The River Cruise Fleet Handbook (May 2024)
* R-M-D= Rhine/Main/Main-Danube Canal/Danube
2024: based on order books as of May 2024.

 
• After a decrease between 2014 and 2018, the average number of beds in new cruise vessels has since been rising continuously. In 2022, the important increase in this figure is explained by the entry into the market of the A-ROSA SENA which has a capacity of 280 beds. Apart from this unusually large vessel, the average number of beds in new river cruise vessels in 2023 remains consistent with this increase, although the prospects for 2024 point to its first decrease since 2018. This can be explained by the entry on the river cruise market of 3 vessels on the Douro with a rather small number of beds (between 102 and 120 each). The average number of beds in the other regions remains consistent with previous years.

 

FIGURE 4: AVERAGE NUMBER OF BEDS IN NEW RIVER CRUISE VESSELS IN EUROPE BY YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION *


Source: A. Hader, The River Cruise Fleet Handbook (May 2024)
* Figure for 2024: based on order books as of May 2024.

DEMAND FOR RIVER CRUISES

• The year 2023 confirms the recovery of the river cruise sector, with values similar to pre-pandemic levels with regard to vessels’ movements. Figures also confirm the catch-up phenomenon concerning the number of passengers embarking on river cruises and the passenger capacity utilisation rates of vessels.
• Regarding the European travel market, 1.22 million passengers from all over the world travelled on European rivers⁴⁹in 2023, which showed a positive development in comparison with 2022, according to the stakeholders interviewed. In addition to this, the current business expectations have become increasingly positive for land and river stakeholders since 2021.
• With regard to the key figures, the three most important groups of passengers represented were from USA/Canada (515,157), Germany/Austria/Switzerland (450,701) and France (100,100). Passengers from the first two groups mainly travelled on the Rhine (and its tributaries) and the Danube which were the most frequented rivers in Europe. Moreover, higher-priced river cruise voyages were notably sold in overseas markets, USA and Canada being over-represented.⁵⁰⁵¹
• As regards the French national rivers and canals, the level of activity was higher in 2023 than in 2019 and a complete reversal of the trend in terms of attendance (+20.14% compared with 2022) was observed.⁵²In addition to this, small vessels enabling the transport of two to 12 people are developing more and more. Operators offering this type of service are intent on innovating and resolved to protect the environment, using for instance electric propulsion.
• The yearly cruise vessel movement figures for the Danube, Rhine and Moselle confirm the positive tendency which has emerged since 2021. In terms of vessel movements, the cruising activity on the Upper Rhine was +0.6% above the level of 2019. However, the cruising activity on the Upper Danube (at the Austrian-German border) and the Moselle were respectively -6.4% and -1% under the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
• The utilisation rate of the river cruise vessels passing the locks is also a key indicator in assessing the recovery of the river cruise sector. The year 2023 confirmed the positive evolutions already observed in 2022, as suggested by the data obtained for the Danube river cruise sector (see following box – focus on capacity utilisation in the river cruise sector).

 

FIGURES 5, 6 AND 7: YEARLY NUMBER OF CRUISE VESSEL TRANSITS ON DANUBE, RHINE AND MOSELLE *






Sources: German Waterway and Shipping Administration (WSV) and Moselle Commission
* Danube = Upper Danube, Austrian-German border (lock of Jochenstein)
Rhine = Upper Rhine (lock of Iffezheim)
Moselle = lock of Koblenz

 
• For three geographical points along the Danube (two on the Upper Danube and one on the Middle Danube), data regarding vessel movements and the number of passengers is available from 2015 onwards. This geographical distinction makes it possible to observe differences in cruising intensity on the different stretches of the Danube. The analysis shows that the activity is the highest on the Upper Danube. Cruising activity on the Middle Danube south of Budapest is lower than on the Danube stretches upstream of Budapest.

FIGURES 8, 9 AND 10: EVOLUTION OF VESSEL MOVEMENTS AND PASSENGER NUMBERS PER STRETCHES OF THE DANUBE AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS PER VESSEL *

 
FOCUS ON CAPACITY UTILISATION IN THE RIVER CRUISE SECTOR

• The analysis of the capacity utilisation of a fleet enables a thorough overview to be carried out of how the supply/demand relationship evolves throughout the years.
• The degree of capacity utilisation of river cruise vessels on the Upper Danube can be calculated on the basis of data provided by the German Waterway Administration on river cruise vessels passing the lock of Jochenstein (German-Austrian border) on the Danube.

 

FIGURE 11: DEGREE OF CAPACITY UTILISATION OF RIVER CRUISE VESSELS ON THE DANUBE (IN %) *


Source: German Waterway Administration
* At the lock of Jochenstein (German-Austrian border)
Capacity utilisation = ratio of number of passengers divided by passenger capacity

 
• This figure brings to light the recovery of the river cruise sector on the Danube.⁵⁴ The catch-up phenomenon for capacity utilisation which had been observed in 2022 was confirmed in 2023. Furthermore, between August 2023 and September 2023, the capacity utilisation experienced a peak leading to higher values than before the pandemic, as illustrated in the figure above.

 
 

AGE STRUCTURE OF THE RHINE PASSENGER FLEET

• Concerning the passenger fleet, it is divided into passenger ferries, river cruise ships, and passenger day-trip vessels. The figure below depicts the current fleet and its evolution over time. However, it is worth noting that inactive vessels may be included in these figures, and some of the newest vessels may not be accounted for. Most passenger ferries and day-trip vessels (which represent 76% of all passenger vessels) were constructed in the 20th century, but there has nevertheless been significant newbuilding activity in the 21st century. The river cruise new build activity remains lower in 2023 compared to the pre-Covid crisis.

 

FIGURE 12: COMMISSIONING YEARS FOR THE RHINE PASSENGER FLEET OVER TIME (NUMBER OF INLAND VESSELS)


Sources: IVR, CCNR analysis
Note that one river cruise vessel and six day-trip vessels have an unknown year of construction. The database of IVR accounts for active vessels but also includes some inactive vessels, in particular those commissioned in earlier years.