The Finnish port of Helsinki announced that expects the upcoming cruise season to be even busier than last summer, as on the basis of advance bookings, it expects to welcome 270 international cruise ships, that will carry an estimated 440,000 visitors.
Specifically, the busiest day this summer will be Wednesday 31 May, when five cruise ships arrive in Helsinki: “Norwegian Getaway” at the Melkki Quay, the German cruise ship “AIDAmar” and the Italian cruise ship “MSC Magnifica” in Hernesaari, and the cruise ships “Le Soleal” and “Ocean Dream” in the South Harbour. Altogether these five cruise ships will bring over 11,000 cruise visitors to Helsinki in a single day.
In order to comply with the busy tourist period, the port is introducing a new digital sign system in Hernesaari. The system is designed to make it easier for cruise visitors to find their way around. The project is being carried out together with Samsung and the Cruise Baltic network.
Last year the biggest incoming markets for cruise passengers were Germany, the USA and Great Britain. This year the biggest growth is expected to come in the number of visitors from Asia. Already last year the number of cruise visitors from China increased by 24 percent.
Cruise Baltic expects the number of cruise visitors to the Baltic Sea region to increase by 13 percent and the number of cruise ship visits by 15 percent this year.
