“This year, 263 international cruise ships arrived in Helsinki, bringing approximately 360,000 passengers to Finland's capital. The number of passengers equalled last year’s record, when an annual increase of 100,000 passengers was recorded over 2007.

‘The cruise industry does not seem to have been overly affected by the recession,’ said Cruise Network manager Tuija Aavikko. ‘The outlook for next season is excellent, as we have already received over 200 reservations. In 2010 we expect to equal or exceed this year’s performance.’

The 2009 cruise ship season in Helsinki began on 3 May and ended on 28 September. Up to five cruise ships called on Helsinki during the busiest days. Visitors from the US continued to represent the largest nationality, accounting for approximately 22 per cent of the total. The share of visitors from Europe is growing with each year, however, as 19 per cent of passengers were from the UK and 17 per cent from Germany. The next biggest nationalities were Spain, Italy and Canada, while in total the cruise passengers represented 148 different countries…”

TRAVEL AGENT CENTRAL 20 November.