More cruise ship tourists want to visit the Baltic:

The Baltic Sea Region is the fastest growing cruise market in the world

The Baltic Sea Region ranks high on the lists of the world’s cruise passengers when choosing a destination for their holiday, according to an analysis compiled by COWI. Within just five years the Baltic has become the world’s fastest growing cruise region.

There was a time when most people planning on taking a cruise dreamed of a sunny holiday beneath warm skies. These days, however, when cruise tourists plan their annual holiday more and more are putting the Baltic region at the top of their wish list.

The Baltic has become a popular cruise destination within the last five years. This has emerged from an analysis compiled by COWI, which has researched the growth of the international cruise market. The consultants have looked at the destinations within the Baltic region and compared them with the destinations in other sought-after cruise areas. The trend is clear:

- The Baltic region is the fastest growing cruise market in the world. While the global cruise industry has experienced a growth of less than nine percent the number of visitors to the Baltic Region has increased by more than 13 percent, says COWI economist Thomas Odgaard, offering as an example Copenhagen, which has more than doubled its number of cruise ship tourists within four years. With 399,000 passengers in 2006, Copenhagen is Baltic’s most visited destination ahead of St Petersburg and Tallinn.

Good infrastructure and professionalism in surrounding areas

The editor of Seatrade Cruise Review and Seatrade Insider, Mary Bond, is in no doubt why both passengers and cruise companies choose the Baltic:

- The Baltic offers passengers a unique combination of exciting harbour towns with cultural and historic attractions and beautiful scenery. The harbours’ infrastructure and the surrounding areas’ ability to handle both ships and passengers in a quick and professional manner are attractive for cruise ship operators. As well as this, the waters and the countries around the Baltic are considered safe and clean.

The world’s largest cruise market is North America, where Caribbean cruises are the most popular, but Europe – including the Baltic Sea Region – now has a market share of 13 percent, and the share is still growing. At the same time the number of cruise ship passengers visiting the 19 Baltic destinations that make up Cruise Baltic Project is growing faster than the number of cruise passengers in the rest of Europe.

Signe Adamsen, Project Director for Cruise Baltic Project, is convinced that cooperation and a goal-orientated marketing effort are the reasons behind the good result:

- It is heartening to have it confirmed that the last years’ work with Cruise Baltic Project has made a difference in the region. The Baltic Sea Region is receiving more and more attention and that stems from the fact that we don’t present ourselves as a single destination but as a unit. We market ourselves as one partner, which simplifies work procedures, makes for an easier overview and, not least, gives us a greater visibility.

If you are interested in receiving COWI’s analysis, please contact: Mette Holdt on tel.: +45 3355 7413 or at mho@woco.dk