The 2017 cruise season at Ports of Stockholm has set a new record, with total passenger numbers reaching 600 000. These passengers spend more than SEK 0.5 billion in the Stockholm region, the company said in its press release.
The 2017 cruise season concludes on 13 October with the arrival of the Norwegian Getaway at the Port of Nynäshamn. The number of cruise passengers for 2017 has reached an all-time-high of 600 000. This is an increase of 22 percent in comparison to the previous year.
Over the course of the international cruise ship season, which runs from May until October, 263 cruise ships have called at Ports of Stockholm. Of these a record number, 73 cruise ship calls, were what is known as turnarounds, with passengers beginning and/or ending their cruises in Stockholm. Passengers then often spend an extra day and night on land, which benefits the tourist industry even further. In total the cruise ship passengers spend more than SEK 0.5 billion on sightseeing, hotels, restaurant visits and shopping in Stockholm.
This year an entirely new cruise ship quay-berth was completed at the Värtahamen port, to enable more cruise ships to call.
The installation in 2016 of the Seawalk, a 260 metre-long retractable floating pier at the Port of Nynäshamn, has resulted in increased flexibility and improved service. During the 2017 cruise season 22 cruise ships called at the Port of Nynäshamn, and almost all of these used the Seawalk.
The international cruise ship season runs from May until October. Ferry services operate all-year-round in the Baltic Sea, with routes to Finland, Poland, the Baltic States and Russia. Each year approximately eleven million passengers travel using these ferry routes.