Results in the passenger and freight business areas in 2013 have been good for Ports of Stockholm. The year has seen new records set for both cruise passenger numbers and for container handling. Ports of Stockholm is Sweden's largest passenger port and Sweden's third largest freight port, the company said in its press release.
Despite a slight drop in the total number of passengers, just over 11 million passengers chose to travel by ferry to and from Ports of Stockholm in 2013. This makes Ports of Stockholm the largest passenger port in Sweden.
Ports of Stockholm welcomed 278 cruise ships, carrying a total of 478 000 passengers, which is a new record. Stockholm is the number one cruise destination in Sweden, welcoming around three-quarters of all cruise passengers travelling to Sweden.
“Passenger traffic is very important to the tourist industry revenue in Stockholm,” says Henrik Widerståhl, Deputy Managing Director at Ports of Stockholm. “The ferry passengers spend a total of five thousand million SEK in Stockholm over the course of a year, which is twenty percent of total tourist consumer spending in Stockholm,” Henrik Widerståhl explains.
During 2013 the volume of freight transported by ferry was 6.2 million tonnes. This was one percent less than in 2012. Container numbers increased by 37 percent and more containers were handled in Stockholm than ever before. Stockholm climbed from eighth place to fourth place in Sweden's container port rankings.
“Considering the turbulent world financial situation in 2013 we are very pleased that the volume of freight passing through our ports has generally been maintained. Ports of Stockholm climbed from a being Sweden's fifth port to now occupying third place in terms of tonnage,” says Henrik Widerståhl.