Baltic Cruise Project Commences

Twelve ports in ten countries from the Baltic Sea Region have joined together to form a major new cruise partnership, in order to create opportunities for continued growth in the numbers of incoming cruise ships to the Baltic.

The Baltic Cruise is the largest ever project of international cooperation where, together with the leading ports of the region, Klaipeda City Municipality, State Seaport Authority and Tourism and Culture Information Center will take part. The number of the project partners amounts to 23 institutions - one or two from Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Turku, Rostock, Kalmar, Gdynia, Riga, Tallinn and St.Petersburg (observer). Partners and sponsors also are SAS Group and Rezidor SAS, which are, respectively, official airline and hotel partners.

The Baltic Cruise project will be based around two specific areas: developing destinations, and joint marketing. The overall aim of this cruise tourism partnership will be to ensure 20% increase in cruise ship guests coming to the region and a 4% increase in the Baltic region's market share of cruise ships globally.

With this new Baltic cooperation we will be able to ensure a stronger position for the Baltic in the international cruise market. Ole Andersen, the leader of the project, sales and marketing director of Tourism Board Wonderful Copenhagen, says, that activities will primarily focus on propagation of the Baltic as a single product among shipping companies and potential passengers of the world. Close relations among the harbours are important in persuading more cruise lines to choose the Baltic as a destination for their cruise ships.

The benefits of the project Baltic Cruise for Klaipeda and Lithuania will be truly great as the city shall become more known and accessible to all potential world cruise companies, our institutions responsible for cruise tourism development. The agencies serving for tourists will benefit from knowledge and "best practices" sharing. It is forseen also that the port of Klaipeda will sooner reach the highest European level standard in passenger servicing.

The project is financed by INTERREG IIIB program and partially by the project partners themselves. Total budget of the project is 1,3 mil Eur - half of the sum is allocated by the EU. The project will continue for 3 years until July 17, 2007.