81 cruise ship visits booked in the Port of Riga next year

RIGA - Next year 81 cruise ships are scheduled to visit the Port of Riga, which is 15 ships more than this year, said Sandis Steins, Chairman of the Board of the Freeport of Riga, to LETA.

He pointed out that next year's cruise season in the Port of Riga promises to be active and with an upward trend. "In addition, the port has been notified of ships with larger passenger capacity, which allows us to predict that the port will welcome up to 100,000 cruise passengers," Steins said.

He also noted that the Port of Riga had a successful cruise season this year, welcoming 66 cruise ships, four more than last year.

"With a record number of five winter cruise ship visits in December, this year has been the culmination of efforts to attract cruise operators to Riga during the winter period, which is considered a typical low season for cruise tourism in the Baltic Sea region," Steins stressed.

Next year's cruise season is scheduled from February to December.

In the first 11 months of 2024, the Port of Riga handled 78,599 cruise ship passengers, which is 1.3 percent less than in the same period last year.

LETA already reported that in 2023 the Port of Riga welcomed a total of 81,681 cruise ship passengers, which is 7.9 percent more than in the previous season. The majority of cruise passengers came from Germany, the US and the UK.

The Port of Riga is the largest port in Latvia in terms of cargo handled.