{"id":32297,"date":"2013-07-02T12:12:59","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T11:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/hambourg-economie-le-potentiel-marin-20130702.html"},"modified":"2016-02-10T10:11:20","modified_gmt":"2016-02-10T09:11:20","slug":"hamburg-economy-marine-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/hamburg-economy-marine-potential","title":{"rendered":"Hamburg: economy, marine potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

A free and Hanseatic city: over the centuries, Hamburg has managed to preserve the features that, since it joined this league of merchant cities in the mid-13th century, have shaped it into a metropolis of commercial influence, but also a city with an original spirit that is open to the world, the second largest in the world after New York in terms of its consular network.<\/p>\n

On the banks of the River Elbe, around a hundred kilometres from the North Sea, Germany's most densely populated city after Berlin has a population of 1.8 million - and soon, according to all forecasts, two million. Exceptional growth in one of Europe's most ageing countries. It owes its vitality in part to reunification: once on the edge of the Iron Curtain, Hamburg has become a strategic, cosmopolitan point right in the middle of Germany, just 1 hour 30 minutes from Berlin.<\/p>\n

Europe's second-largest port<\/h2>\n

\"BuildingYet Hamburg has always owed its power, first and foremost, to its port: the second largest in Europe after Rotterdam in terms of container traffic - the third largest after the Dutch port and Antwerp in terms of cargo volume, according to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) - and the fourteenth largest in the world. Hamburg Hafen supplies the whole of the German-speaking area, including Austria and Switzerland, as well as a large number of Eastern European countries with no seafront.<\/p>\n

To maintain this pre-eminent position, a number of developments are underway. These include a huge project to deepen the Elbe by several metres in order to accommodate ever-larger container ships, a strategy that would enable crucial trade to be maintained, particularly with China. The start of the works has so far been delayed by protests from environmental groups and local residents fearing the effects on the ecosystem along the river, considered to be Germany's orchard.<\/p>\n

However, this work is undoubtedly the key to the future from an economic point of view, as the port represents more than 150,000 jobs. It's a project that is crucial to maintaining Hamburg's position as the second most dynamic Land - or region - in Germany, in terms of both GDP growth and increase in the working population. Of course, it could always be pointed out that the unemployment figures are slightly higher than the national average, at 7.5 % compared with 6.8 % in 2012, but for Torsten K\u00f6nig, economist at the Hamburg Handelskammer, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, \"these figures are distorted, because the jobs in Hamburg are provided by many residents of the surrounding L\u00e4nder, such as Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein\".<\/em><\/p>\n

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Small in size - its surface area barely exceeds 750 km2 - Hamburg is wealthy, with a GDP of around 88 billion euros year on year, or almost 4 % of that of Germany as a whole. What's more, per capita GDP is 60 % higher than the national average, and growth, despite the effects of the crisis, remains in the region of 3.5 % to 4 %, according to figures from the economic mission.<\/p>\n

With a transport infrastructure that enables it to take advantage of its strategic position at the heart of Northern Europe, the region is innovative, generating almost 10,000 business start-ups and relocations every year. Since reunification, and in common with the world's largest cities, the share of services in Hamburg's GDP has grown considerably, and now accounts for almost 85 %. \"Industry has even become much less important than in the rest of Germany\",<\/em> Torsten K\u00f6nig continues.<\/p>\n

An island dedicated to airbus<\/h2>\n

Certain sectors, such as shipbuilding, once one of the Hanseatic city's strong points, have all but disappeared. And these economic changes have led to a number of developments: the oldest part of the port of Hamburg, which fell into disuse with the introduction of gigantic container ships, has become one of Europe's largest urban regeneration projects. Since the early 2000s, Hafen City, an ambitious revitalisation of a 19th-century port site, has provided Hamburg with 40 % of additional living space at a cost of \u20ac7 billion.<\/p>\n

A reflection of the city's dynamic population and formidable capacity for renewal, this 'recycling' spirit can also be found in the areas formerly dedicated to shipyards, which today house the Airbus assembly plants, right in the middle of an island on the Elbe facing the Altona district. This is where the A 318, A 319 and even the A 380 take shape, under the precise hand of some 10,000 employees. Add to this the fact that the aircraft manufacturer employs 3,000 people in neighbouring Bremen, and the region has established itself as one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturing centres. What's more, in Stade, another town close to Hamburg, workers, engineers, academics and students work in symbiosis in competitive clusters focused on materials research for Airbus and other companies.<\/p>\n

\"The presence of Airbus makes France Hamburg's leading trading partner, well ahead of China\",<\/em> concludes Torsten K\u00f6nig. Internationally, Hamburg, which is twinned with Marseille, is the leading exporter of German products to France and the leading importer of French products. Around 170 Hamburg companies are represented in France, while 190 French companies are based in Hamburg, including Veolia, Peugeot, Renault, IPSOS, Caudalie, Chanel and Publicis. The French are also gradually being won over by the appeal of Hamburg, this \"Metropoleffekt\", with 4,000 of them officially registered in the city.<\/p>\n

nivea cream, born in hamburg<\/h2>\n

Although industry has clearly declined in favour of services, particularly logistics, the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are still well represented, with 30,000 jobs and an estimated 10 % of German chemical production. Beiersdorf, the Hamburg-based group that owns brands such as Nivea, Labello, La Prairie and Elastoplast, plays a key role in the town's chemical tradition, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

Daily reference newspapers<\/h2>\n

\"The media, with 60,000 employees, remains one of Hamburg's other historic strengths. \"During the British occupation, freedom of expression in general, and of the press in particular, was encouraged, resulting in the creation of numerous daily newspapers and magazines\".<\/em>explains Nadja Zimmermann, a media specialist at the Handelskammer. In the immediate post-war period, titles such as die Zeit and die Welt (1946), der Spiegel (1947) and Bild (1952) were born, followed by television channels such as ARD and Tagesschau.<\/p>\n

This weight is no doubt a factor in Google's decision to make Hamburg its headquarters in Germany. Especially as the presence of the media has accelerated the development of parallel sectors, such as information and communication technologies and advertising. \"Hamburg is also a driving force in the creative industry,\" continues Nadja Zimmermann, \"with around 1,400 companies employing between 80,000 and 100,000 people. Communications and advertising account for 51 % of media companies, publishing and press groups for 16 %.<\/p>\n

As well as the 'classic' areas, digital media and innovation are also taking pride of place. Achim Quinke, director of the Quinke Network advertising agency, is the founder of \"gamecity:Hamburg\", an entity set up in the early 2000s with the aim of supporting a field that was still in its infancy at the time: online games. \"It was a way of giving visibility and weight to companies developing in this field by bringing them together around a website\", he explains.<\/p>\n

Today, of the 11,000 jobs in the online gaming sector in Germany, more than 4,000 are based in Hamburg. \"It was one of the first German cities to take an interest in the Internet\".<\/em>continues Achim Quinke, \"The major studios employ up to twenty different nationalities, because games not only have to be translated, but also adapted to suit different countries. This creates a major international dynamic\".<\/em><\/p>\n


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Almost five years ago, a 'Master Class' in games was launched at an engineering school, and the industry is growing by 15 % jobs a year. Other sectors, such as life sciences, nanotechnology and green energy, are also booming. As for research, Hamburg devotes 2 % of its GDP to it. The city is also the third Land in terms of patent filings after Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg and Bavaria, with a total of 905 patents in 2010.<\/p>\n

Cultural and alternative<\/h2>\n

So, even if Berlin still comes top of the list of Germany's most popular cities, closely followed by Munich, Hamburg is definitely worth a look. From the alternative district of Karolinenviertel to the chic boutiques of Neuer Wall and the Wexstra\u00dfe, where trendy caf\u00e9s flourish, from the Kunstmeile - the Golden Triangle of museums - to the opera house where John Neumeier's famous contemporary ballets are created, Hamburg is on the move. Between now and 2014, 18 new hotels are due to open, adding almost 3,250 rooms. In 2012, the Hanseatic city even managed to climb to the rank of 10th most visited city in Europe, dethroning even Amsterdam. \"It's one of the few cities on this list that isn't a capital city! However, the problem is the scarcity of direct flights to North America and Asia, even though China is its number one non-European trading partner\",<\/em> explains Guido Neumann, Director of Communications for Hamburg Tourismus.<\/p>\n

While waiting for a better-connected airport, Hamburg is once again banking on an advantage that no other major German city possesses: access by sea. In 2004, 600,000 people watched the passage of the Queen Mary 2 from the quays of Hafen City. This highly visible enthusiasm gave rise to a project, and then a reality: to make Hamburg a mecca for North Sea cruises. A new terminal is due to be built in Hafen City, but already 400,000 passengers pass through the Hanseatic city every year. \"The aim is to attract more and more international cruise passengers, so that they can discover Hamburg before Berlin\".<\/em>concludes Guido Neumann. With a market that has been growing by 30 % a year since 2010, and which has simply multiplied by 10 in the space of 10 years, it would seem that Hamburg's future lies on the water. Over and over again.<\/p>\n

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