Cruises to the Baltic are up, according to the new Market Review 2017 from Cruise Baltic, released at this year’s Seatrade Cruise Global.
According to the study, 2016 saw a total of 4,333,529 passengers visit the Baltic Sea region, up 1.2 percent over 2015; while in 2017, passenger, call and turnaround figures all expected to increase to record levels, Cruise Baltic said.
The analysis, conducted amongst all 29 Cruise Baltic destinations – including, for full accuracy purposes, data from additional destinations St. Petersburg, Kiel and Riga – reports on results for 2016 the forecast for 2017.
The figures presented in the Market Review are based on a collection of data from amongst ports in the Baltic Sea region as of December 2016 . Highlights include:
- The total number of passenger movements has increased by 1.2 percent (compared to 2015), totaling 4,333,529 passengers
- The total number of calls was unchanged
- The total number of turnarounds has increased by 14.1 percent
From 2000 to 2016, the number of passengers visiting the Cruise Baltic destinations has increased by an average annual rate of 9.9 percent, from 1.1 million in 2000 to more than 4.3 million in 2016. The number of calls increased by an average annual rate of 2.7 percent per year, from 1,479 in 2000, to 2,163 in 2016.
The number of turnarounds increased by an average annual rate of 9.6 percent per year - from 106 in 2000 to 460 in 2016. (Turnaround numbers from Kiel and Lübeck-Travemunde were unavailable for parts of the period, and therefore are not included in this average annual growth rate calculation.)
The Top 5 Ports
- Most passenger visits in 2016: Rostock saw the highest growth rate of 14 percent with 553,000 passengers compared to 485,000 in 2015; Copenhagen, the largest port in terms of passengers, also increased 9.3 percent from 2015 to 2016.
- The number of calls in 2016 increased in three of the top five ports. Rostock increased the most by 14 percent; then Copenhagen by 9.3 percent; and Kiel by 5.8 percent. The number of calls decreased in Stockholm by 5.7 percent and in St. Petersburg by 4 percent.
- The Top 5 ports amounted to 1,136 calls out of the total 2,163 in 2016, accounting for 52 percent of all calls.
- In 2016 Copenhagen was once again the largest turnaround port with 139, marking an increase of 11 percent compared to 2015. Rostock and Kiel both experienced an increase of 12.6 percent and 15.3 percent respectively; Kiel grew by 15.3 percent to 136 turns.
In 2017 turnaround expectations will increase in three of the ports: by 35 percent for Stockholm, by 9.4 percent for Copenhagen and by 4.7 percent for Rostock, while Kiel is expected to experience a decrease of 5.9 percent.
In the larger ports, with between 50 - 199 calls - comprising Rostock, Kiel, Oslo, Klaipeda, Riga and Kristiansand – growth of passenger numbers continued at 7.9 percent in 2016, from 1,339,881 passengers in 2015 to 1,445,662 in 2016. In total the ports had 591 calls in 2016 and will increase in 2017 by 2.2 percent to 604 calls.
Those ports with between 25 and 49 calls – comprising Visby, Gdansk, Gothenburg and Aarhus – saw an increase of 2.5 percent in passenger numbers. The passenger numbers in this segment are expected to increase by 21.4 percent by 2017. Between them the four destinations had 138 calls in 2016, looking to increase by no less than 40.6 percent in 2017 to 194 calls.
Overall the passenger figures in the ports with 0-24 calls decreased by 17.2 percent in 2016. However, four of the destinations - Karlskrona, Helsingborg, Kalmar and Elsinore – each grew more than 100 percent in 2016. For 2017, overall passenger figures are expected to grow by 90.7 percent and calls in this segment is expected to increase by 70.4 percent to 196 calls.
Looking Ahead to a Record 2017
- Passengers to the Cruise Baltic destinations: The number is expected to increase by 13 percent compared to 2016.
- The number of calls to Cruise Baltic ports is expected to rise 15.2 percent, to 2,492 calls.
- The number of turnarounds is expected to increase 3.7 percent, from 460 in 2016 to an estimated 477 in 2017.
- Top five ports - positive passenger expectations for 2017 – Stockholm, St Petersburg and Copenhagen will grow (34 percent , 17.5 percent and 14.9 percent); Rostock will remain stable, while only Kiel is expecting a decrease of 13.5 percent. In fact, St. Petersburg, Rostock, Copenhagen and Stockholm are expected to receive its highest number of cruise guests ever.
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