Kempinski launches into Nile cruising

Hotel group Kempinski is to make its first foray into Nile cruising with the launch of a cruise ship this summer.

The 70-cabin Kempinski Ganna will be the largest vessel on the Nile when it begins its maiden voyage on 1 August, and will cruise between Luxor and Aswan.

Ulrich Eckhardt, the group's area vice-president in the Middle East, said that the liner would act more as a floating hotel than a cruise ship and was not a sign that the company was about to enter the lucrative but competitive cruise market.

"To get to the archaeological sites, you have to cross the Nile," he said. "It will take people from one side to another more easily than if they were having to take a bus ride."

Eckhardt denied the move had been prompted by security fears among tourists to the Middle East, although he conceded that, generally, "people feel secure on boats in the cruise market".

The chain had no plans to sign management contracts on any more cruise ships, he added.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 4 April 2002