The Cruise Baltic Organisation in Gdansk

14.04.2015

In February this year, Cruise Baltic was highly impressed by the extensive marketing and promotional campaigns for the port as well as the city of Gdansk along with the dynamic growth in the number of passengers handled by cruise ships which, during 2013-2014, increased by 40% (making it the fourth largest in the Baltic region, including ports such as Skagen, Gothenburg, and Klaipeda) and so decided to choose Gdansk for its next meeting place.

Cruise Baltic is one of the most dynamic organisations of ports and cities of the Baltic Sea basin, positioning the region as one to be acknowledged by the international market as an attractive cruise destination. Its aim is to promote the Baltic among tourists, fleets and tour operators. Since its establishment in 2004, the organisation has attracted a group of 27 destinations, including 7 from Sweden, 6 from Denmark, 5 from Finland, 3 from Norway, 2 from Germany, 2 from Estonia and one from Lithuania. At the moment, Poland is exclusively represented by the port and the city of Gdansk.

As the organisation likes to point out, Gdansk is an exciting and promising destination which, according to market research, holds a very creditable third place on the Baltic Sea in terms of attractiveness according to passenger assessment.

The three-day conference, which took place on 9-11 April, in addition to holding traditional working meetings for Cruise Baltic members, was also an opportunity to showcase the Port of Gdansk's potential to nearly fifty guests in terms of passenger traffic, as well as to present the guests with an idea of the city's tourist potential.

Representatives of this organisation and the several cruise lines present in Gdansk were shown, amongst other attractions, tourist hits such as: the European Solidarity Centre, Oliwa Cathedral, the Amber Museum, the Royal Route, Artus Court as well as the unique Shakespeare Theatre.

At the Port of Gdansk, the visitors had an opportunity to discover the potential of the Westerplatte Ferry Terminal which is the busiest tourist service area in the port. The guests were also shown the potential of the passenger station, where in the past year for the first time passengers could embark on so-called turnaround cruises. A preferential pricing policy for passenger ships was also discussed as well as potential for the development of the port.

The meeting also included a gala dinner organised in honour of the guests headed by the chairman of the Cruise Baltic Organisation - Mr. Claus Botker. The hosts - the port and the city of Gdansk - were represented by the President of the Port Authority SA - Mrs. Dorota Raben and the President of the Gdansk Tourist Organisation - Mr. Lukasz Wysocki.

In the opinion of the guests, Gdansk scored highly. The Hanseatic charm of the town and the well though-out port policy in terms of passengers and cruise ships, was duly noted by the participants, while also acknowledging that the choice of the City of Gdansk and the Port of Gdansk to host this year's meeting of the Cruise Baltic organisation was not accidental.