English
This year, several new season records for cruise ships have been set in the port of Riga, according to the statistics compiled by the Freeport of Riga Authority. The active cruise season in Riga lasted 175 days this year - it started on April 12 and ended on October 3. A total of 99 cruise ship visits were registered, which is the highest figure in the history of the Port of Riga. This season, 75,730 cruise passengers from 128 countries have arrived at the capital of Latvia on board the cruise ships. Most of those passengers were from Germany (46%), the USA (21%) and Great Britain (8%), a considerable number of passengers were from Italy, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, France and Spain.
The highest number of cruise ship calls to the port this season was in July, when 30 cruise ship calls were registered. This is the absolute record of the month in terms of cruise ships received in the port of Riga.
The largest cruise ship calling Riga this season in terms of GT was the liner “Voyager of the Seas” (311 m, 138,194 GT), operated by Royal Caribbean International, the smallest one – “Clio” (100 m, 3504 GT), sailing under the flag of Malta.
The vessel “Mein Schiff 6” of the German operator TUI Cruises brought the most passengers during one trip this season - 2,630 people.
The French cruise liner “Le Champlain” called our port most often - ten times, “Voyager of the Seas” - eight times, “Mein Schiff 6” (operator TUI Cruises) and “Marina” (operator Oceania Cruises) called Riga seven times each, several vessels visited Riga this season from three to six times, 9 ships visited our port twice and 7 ships - once.
In total, 30 different cruise ships called the port this season. 13 of them visited Riga for the first time. During 21 visits, cruise ships stayed in Riga for two days within one visit, which is also a record for the season.
This summer, the 10 millionth passenger since the establishment of the Freeport of Riga Authority (in 2000) was welcomed at the port of Riga. It was Tanya Cassandra Karina Bittner from Weiherhammer, Bavaria, who left for a Baltic Sea cruise from the port of Kiel with her husband Christian and 8-year-old son Paul. The family has arrived at Riga on the morning of Sunday, August 7, on board “COSTA FASCINOSA” of the Italian cruise company Costa Cruises.
“It was a challenging season for all of us. The number of cruise ship visits was significantly influenced by the geopolitical situation, at the same time, a lot was accomplished by working with cruise companies, international industry associations and the media to highlight Riga against the background of other ports of the region,” noted Ansis Zeltiņš, the Freeport of Riga CEO.
At the end of the season, a meeting of the responsible representatives of the Riga port, Riga city municipality, cruise and tourism industry and port terminals was traditionally held at the Riga Freeport Authority. The results of the season were discussed, the cooperation of all parties was evaluated, and preparations for the 2023 cruise season were launched to continue the commenced work on the improvement of tourism and passenger infrastructure both in the port and in the city of Riga.
Information for media
- liene.ozola [at] rop.lv, +371 670 308 53
- Freeport of Riga Authority
- 12 Kalpaka blvd, Riga, Latvia, LV-1010
