Photo: Cruise Baltic
Europe is an interesting piece in
the global cruise puzzle in many
regards. More Europeans are cruising than ever before and the European source market is growing
at a historical rate of 11%. Four
million cruises were purchased by
Europeans in 2007 and 4.3 million
passengers boarded their cruise
ships in the Old Continent.
S
till, the Europeans are nowhere near
the Americans in their cruise enthusi-
asm – only one percent of the Europeans
are cruise-goers where as in the US that
share is three times higher.
Another issue, of course, is that European destinations are very appealing to
the cruise patrons around the world. The
Baltic Sea, for instance, has become an enduring success: between 2001–2008 the
number of cruise passengers in the Baltic increased by an average annual rate
of 13.1 percent. In 2008, the number of
cruise passengers to this part of the world
increased by a whopping 25 percent.
The busiest ports in the region are
Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Tallinn,
Stockholm and Helsinki. There are also
considerable upgrades in the works: Copenhagen, for one, is in the process of acquiring more berth space for cruise vessels
Mr. Bo Larsen, Director of Cruise Baltic.
and expects to be capable of handling the
largest cruise vessels by 2012.
will comprise as many as seven cruise linMARINE FACADE READY TO ROLL
name for themselves in this regard as well.
er berths.
Turnarounds increased by 19% last year.
And at the eastern end of the Baltic Sea,
According to various industry ex-
St. Petersburg is assuming a new role with
perts, the Marine Facade is the most am-
THERE SHE GROWS
added significance. The first phase of the
bitious cruise facilities project in the world
Bo Larsen, Director of Cruise Baltic, pre-
new Marine Facade Passenger Port was
and is expected to boost the entire Baltic
dicts that the passenger growth will con-
completed in 2008 and this year the port
cruise scene.
tinue despite the economic gloom. He ex-
will handle 112 cruise ships.
Furthermore, the appeal of the re-
pects the passenger volumes to increase
The terminal, upon its full comple-
gion is enhanced by the easy turnaround
tion in 2011, will be able to handle 12,000
access. Copenhagen is traditionally a
“We will see 39 major cruise line op-
passengers a day – making it more than
strong turnaround destination, but other
erato