World’s second largest cruise ship gives France’s GDP a €1bn lift

The mega-ship built in Saint-Nazaire boosted economic output by 0.3 per cent

Utopia of the Seas launched its maiden voyage on 19 July (Royal Caribbean )

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship added €1 billion (£840m) to the French economy, according to official statistics from Tuesday (30 July).

The Utopia of the Seas, the second-largest cruise ship in the world, significantly lifted French economic output by 0.3 per cent in the three months between April and June after a surge in the country’s exports.

French trade growth also increased in the second economic quarter after the delivery of the mega-ship built in Saint-Nazaire’s Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard.

With 2,834 cabins, five pools, 21 dining concepts and 18 decks, Oasis-class Utopia comes second only to Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas for size.

The high-value vessel helped grow French exports by 0.6 per cent after its delivery, according to data from the statistics office INSEE.

Utopia of the Seas officially launched its maiden voyage on 19 July from Florida’s Port Canaveral with upcoming itineraries for three- and four-night cruises designed for young people seeking “the world’s biggest weekend”.

The 28th vessel joining the Royal Caribbean fleet cost $1.3 billion (£1bn) to build and took two years to complete.

With the Olympic Games ongoing in Paris, increased consumer spending from thousands of tourists could also aid the French economy beyond the government’s original 1 per cent growth forecast.

Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said: “We will probably have growth after all that is better than the 1 per cent forecast in February.

“For two years, France has outperformed; our economic policies work and are giving tangible results.”

The first successful sailings of Utopia came after the sister ship Icon of the Seas experienced an onboard fire.

A fire broke out on the world’s largest cruise ship on 27 June, causing it to lose power while docked in Mexico.

No one was injured in the “minor” blaze while the ship was in Costa Maya, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told The Independent.

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