Passenger traffic at Ports of Stockholm hits 12-million mark in 2017

During 2017 just over 12 million passengers took the sea route to and from the Stockholm region. This makes Ports of Stockholm one of the biggest passenger ports in Europe. These voyagers annually spend more than five billion SEK in the Stockholm region, and contribute greatly to the rapidly growing tourist industry in Sweden, the Ports of Stockholm Authority said in a press release.

Ports of Stockholm is Sweden’s largest passenger port and one of the largest in Europe. In 2017 just over twelve million ferry and cruise passengers travelled via Ports of Stockholm. The largest proportion, around eleven million ferry passengers, were people sailing to and from Finland, the Baltics, Poland, Russia and Sweden’s largest island, Gotland.

“Ferry passengers play a major role for the tourist industry, which is the most rapidly growing primary industry in Sweden today. These passengers spend around five million SEK in the Stockholm region, for example on shopping and restaurant visits, they fill the equivalent of seven average-sized hotels every day of the year and generate more than 4000 job opportunities,” says Stefan Hansson, Chair of the Board at Ports of Stockholm.

From Ports of Stockholm’s ports you can travel by ferry to twelve destinations. These destinations, ranked in order of passenger numbers, are Turku, Helsinki, Mariehamn, Visby, Tallinn, Riga, Naantali, Ventspils, Gdansk, Paldiski, Saint Petersburg and Gdynia.

“We have made investments and carried out major rebuilding projects at the Värtahamnen port and at the Port of Kapellskär to create good preconditions to develop and grow as a ferry and cruise destination. As Sweden’s biggest passenger port, the ferries function as a bridge over the Baltic Sea to Finland and our neighbours in the East,” states Ports of Stockholm Managing Director, Johan Castwall.

International cruise liners arrive in Stockholm from May to October, carrying around one million passengers. A record was set in 2017 for Ports of Stockholm international cruise passenger numbers, and this year a record number of 280 cruise liners are already pre-booked.

At the Port of Nynäshamn cruise passenger service was improved significantly in 2016, when the port was equipped with a unique 260 metre-long pier. This retractable “SeaWalk” is one of only a handful in the world, and makes it easier for both passengers and luggage to be rapidly disembarked or loaded aboard.