During the cruise season of 2017 cruise vessels called Tallinn 311 times and brought a record-breaking number of 564,280 cruise passengers to Tallinn. Saaremaa Harbor had 5 cruise ship calls with a total of 1,513 passengers.
On October 30, Port of Tallinn together with clients and partners of the Estonian cruise industry gathered at Estonia’s newly opened Film Museum to sum up this year’s cruise season and discuss future plans.
According to Port of Tallinn’s cruise and ferry business manager Ingrid Berezin this year’s season was a success.
“During the season 70 different cruise vessels called the harbors increasing cruise ship calls by 14.7% YoY. Also, the passenger number hit a whole-time record, which shows that Estonia is among the most popular cruise destinations in the Baltic Sea region,” she said.
Cruise ships of Aida Cruises called Estonia the most, namely 40 times, vessels of Viking Cruises made 24 calls and cruise ships of Royal Caribbean made 21 calls. Altogether 16 different cruise companies brought cruise tourists to Estonia.
“Next year we are expecting 342 cruise ship calls to Tallinn and 11 cruise ship calls to Saaremaa, bringing to Estonia about 580,000 cruise tourists. We also have the opportunity to welcome the first ever Asian cruise,” added Berezin.
To improve passenger’s experience in Tallinn, Port of Tallinn has started to develop the Old City Harbor area according to the Masterplan 2030 and is planning to build a new green and innovative cruise terminal.
Port of Tallinn plans to introduce more urban development to Old City Harbor alongside its port functions and to transform the area into a revitalized urban space that is both attractive and easy to traverse. This development will change the face of the city of Tallinn with smooth and innovative solutions and bring the city closer to the sea. (PortNews/Business World Magazine)