Richard Welge (49) is the new Vice President Customer Experience of AIDA Cruises. He reports directly to Michael Ungerer, President of AIDA Cruises, in this newly created position.

"I am delighted to have Richard Welge on board as an experienced professional who will help us be even more consistent about putting guests first in everything we do and continue to drive our company's growth," said Ungerer.

"I look forward to helping to shape such a highly emotional product as AIDA in the future. I am excited that AIDA has created this new position as an expression of its determination to truly put guests first," Welge stated.

Welge has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in a wide variety of industries and a strong track record of focusing on customer satisfaction and delivering a seamless product experience. Welge hails from PAYBACK where he was Head of Marketing. Prior to that, he held various management positions at comdirect bank for twelve years, most recently serving as Head of Marketing and Sales for eight years. Welge has an interesting biography. He grew up in Namibia and obtained a degree in business administration in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is married with two children.

AIDA Cruises is one of Germany’s fastest growing and most financially successful tourism businesses and currently employs around 7,000 people from 40 countries. Of these employees, 6,000 work on board and 1,000 work at the company headquarters in Rostock and Hamburg. With its 10 cruise ships, AlDA currently operates and markets one of the most state-of-the-art fleets in the world. The ships are operated in compliance with the highest international quality, environmental, and safety standards. By 2020, the AIDA fleet will expand to 14 ships.