BERLIN, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- More than one million passengers spent their holidays on German cruise ships in the first six months of 2019, an increase of 17 percent compared to last year, the German hub of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said on Wednesday.

For the whole year 2019, CLIA expects this figure to reach 2.5 million passengers. In 2018, German deep-sea cruises attracted around 2.3 million passengers.

"Looking at our forecast for the year, we are right on track," said Helge Grammerstorf, CLIA Germany's national director.

Holidaymakers on German cruise ships preferred European destinations, CLIA noted. A quarter of all passengers traveled to the Mediterranean, the most popular destination, followed by the Canary Islands and northern Europe.

Following stricter environmental regulations introduced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the cruise industry is "constantly working to reduce ship emissions," said Karl Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and chairman of CLIA Germany's Leadership Council.

Almost half of the 279 cruise ships operated by CLIA Germany's member shipping companies are already equipped with exhaust gas purification systems, and a further 40 cruise ships are about to have such systems installed.

Last week, a survey conducted by the German Shipowners' Association (VDR) showed that more than 80 percent of German shipping companies were planning to switch to low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) to meet the new standards.

CLIA Germany stressed that the world's first ship fueled entirely by LNG (liquefied natural gas) is a cruise ship. Another German cruise ship to run on LNG would follow this year, and an additional 26 LNG cruise ships have already been ordered by German cruise companies.

"It is in our very own interest to protect the environment and destinations because we want to continue to offer our passengers an extraordinary holiday experience in the future," emphasized Pojer. Enditem

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