Ports handled 2,960 calls and 3. 35 million cruise passengers in 2013
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Baltic ports handled a total of 2,960 cruise calls and 3.35 million cruise passengers in 2013, according to research conducted by GP Wild International and Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) for the Cruise Baltic association.
Released at Cruise Shipping Miami, the study – An Overview on the Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism on the Baltic Sea Region – gathered data from 2011-2013 from 12 Baltic port in nine different countries. These included Copenhagen, Aarhus, Ronne, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Malmo, Sweden; Klaipeda, Lithuania; Oslo, Norway; Tallinn, Estonia; Gdynia, Poland; Rostock, Germany; and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Figures from these ports indicate that around 540,527 passengers embarked on cruises from Cruise Baltic ports, while an estimated 425,700 crew members disembarked during cruise calls and visited Cruise Baltic ports.
Passengers and crew spent an estimated €346 million during 2013, while cruise lines spent around €339.4 million, which helped to generate an estimated €1.4 billion in direct and indirect output throughout the region. The cruise industry also generated an estimated 6,155 direct jobs and €161.3 million in compensation in the Baltic Sea region.
“What separates the Baltic cruise market from most other cruise destination markets is the fact that most cruise itineraries are wholly-contained within the market,” said Andrew Moody, PhD and principal, BREA. “Thus, the region benefits from both the impacts of passenger embarkations at home ports, such as Copenhagen and Kiel, as well as the impacts of passenger destination visits at the many cruise destinations in the Baltic Sea region, such as St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm.”
Moody added: “With these aspects represented in the cruise market, average passenger spending is well above the average for most markets – a typical Baltic cruise originating at a Baltic homeport and visiting five Baltic destinations will generate an average of €535 per passenger and €155 per crew expenditure over the course of the cruise.”
In addition, Cruise Baltic released the results of its Market Review 2014, which contained data from all 28 Cruise Baltic destinations, as well as data from additional destinations St Petersburg, Kiel and Riga.
According to the review, the total number of passengers visiting the Baltic ports in 2013 increased by 6.8% from 2012, which exceeded expectations of a 4.7% rise. Call numbers have also risen by 0.8%.
Since 2000, the number of passengers sailing in the region has increased by an average annual rate of 11.2% - from 1.1 million to nearly 4.4 million, while the number of calls has increased by an average annual rate of 4.0% per year – from 1,532 to 2,552. Turnarounds have also risen by an average annual rate of 8.2% - from 106 in 2000, to 409 in 2013.
In 2013, three of the five most visited ports saw growth. Tallinn recorded the highest growth rate, with numbers increasing by 17.9% to 519,319, while Helsinki and Stockholm increased by 14.1% and 3.3% respectively. Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm recorded the most significant growth in cruise calls. Copenhagen remained the region’s largest turnaround port.
While the network expects a slight decrease in the number of calls, turnarounds and passengers in 2014, Cruise Baltic director Bo Larsen remains positive.
“Shipbuilding has slowed down in recent years, which is reflected in our numbers too, however, it is very positive that we grew more than expected in 2013,” said Larsen. “Despite a growth in number of calls of only 0.8% in 2013, we still did see a larger growth than expected in number of cruise guests, which reflects that ships are getting larger and we are benefiting from that.”