Τhe Port of Riga Authority participated in a summit organized by CLIA, the cruise industry association. The Port promoted Riga as an attractive and welcoming destination, emphasizing that a number of measures have been taken to make the port more suitable for cruise ships, both in terms of shipping safety and capacity.
As Edgars Suna, Deputy CEO for Port Development Matters said, the Port of Riga has cleaned the access channel and ship turning pool, allowing larger cruise ships in the city centre. What is more, the Port plans to transfer port activities away from the city centre, to have access to more berths in the export port area.
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The cruise season in the Port of Riga, lasts from the end of April to the beginning of October. After that, most ships sail to warmer seas or serve exclusive destinations.
Cruise travel is currently one of the most rapidly growing tourism segments globally. The number of cruise ships in Riga increases every year. Namely, in 2016, 63 liners moored at the Port of Riga, while last year it was already 87.
This year 91 cruise ships will arrive in Riga, bringing about 70 thousand passengers from 123 different countries. According to the information collected by the Freeport of Riga Authority, 33% of all tourists are German, 17% are from the United States, 10% from Great Britain, 6% from Finland and 5% from Russia. More than 1000 cruise tourists came from Italy, Australia, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, France, Austria and Israel.
