Tallink Grupp's statistics reveals full year drop in passenger numbers, but increase in cargo units carried
Tallink Grupp has published its 2021 fourth quarter and December passenger and cargo statistics, which continue to evidence severe impact of COVID pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions.
During the full year 2021, Tallink Grupp transported a total of 2 961 975 passengers on all the company’s routes, which is a 20.6% decrease compared to the full year 2020 (3 732 102 passengers in 2020). Passenger numbers decreased on the company’s Finland-Sweden, Estonia-Finland and Latvia-Sweden routes compared to 2020, with the Latvia-Sweden route remaining fully suspended throughout 2021 and two Finland-Sweden route vessels only returning to their regular routes in the second half of 2021 due to ongoing travel restrictions throughout the first half of 2021. The only route which saw an increase in passenger numbers in 2021 compared to 2020, was the Tallinn-Stockholm route, which was re-opened in July 2021 after being suspended for nearly a year and a half since March 2020.
The number of passenger vehicles transported in 2021 also decreased compared to the previous year with a total of 602 033 passenger vehicles transported on all the company’s routes during the year (702 702 in 2020).
Despite reductions in passenger and passenger vehicle numbers, the company managed to increase the number of cargo units carried during the year to a total of 369 170 units for the full year (359 811 units in 2020). The company managed to increase the number of cargo units transported on the Estonia-Finland and Estonia-Sweden routes, and the number of units carried on the Finland-Sweden routes was only marginally less than in 2020.
„2021 did not bring with it the much hoped for and anticipated end to the pandemic and proper recovery yet, which meant much of the year was once again spent thinking outside the box, inventing ways of keeping people and goods moving throughout the many last minute and extensive travel restrictions,“ Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp, said commenting on the results.
„For the second year running, we were creative, pushed the boundaries with bringing many new services like COVID testing and vaccinations on board with new partners and, at times, also partnering with our governments. All with the goal of giving healthy people who need to travel, the opportunity to travel in these difficult times,“ Nõgene added.
„Although the traveller numbers yet again lower than we would have liked them to be in 2021, we are pleased that the second half of the year already saw a near 21% increase in passenger numbers compared to the second half of 2020, and we were able to re-open some of our popular routes half way through 2021, which had remained suspended since the start of the pandemic. Re-opening the routes has given so many people more opportunities again to visit family, loved ones and friends, which is more important than ever during this long period of isolation and seclusion. We hope that once we get past the ongoing Omicron wave and the low winter season, we will soon reach a phase in the fight against the virus, which signals that we are nearing the end of our fight and our ultimate defeat of COVID and we can start to rebuild our lives, businesses, societies,“ Nõgene commented.
„Tallink Grupp is standing here at the starting line of 2022 full of hope and expectation that this year we will see a change for the better at last. As an organisation we are leaner, more cost-effective and doing everything we can to ensure the long-term sustainability of our business. Our professional team here at Tallink Silja will continue to work towards recovery, rebuilding and restoration of our plans and goals as we did in 2021,“ Nõgene concluded.
AS Tallink Grupp is one of the leading providers of passenger transport and cargo transport services in the northern part of the Baltic Sea region. The company owns 15 vessels and operates a number of ferry routes on the Baltic Sea under the brand names of Tallink and Silja Line. AS Tallink Grupp employs around 4000 people in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Germany. The shares of Tallink Grupp are listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange.
