In 2002 Gothenburg received 5 calls and 2,400 passengers. Ten years later, in 2012, the Swedish port is expecting 62 calls and 70,000 passengers.
Jill Sodervall, head of cruise operations at the Gothenburg Port Authority, commented: “The increase is largely as a result of focused collaboration between the Port of Gothenburg and Goteborg & Co.
The companies have conducted a survey of passengers for the first time which included views on the destination as well as informatoin about the passengers themselves. The majority come from Mexico, Canada, China and Japan. About 57% had never been to Sweden before and for 77% it was their first time in Gothenburg.
Four out of five passengers were under the age of 65 years with the average age being 51. Visitors from Asia were considerably younger with an average age of 37 years.
Passengers spent SEK40m in Gothenburg during the summer. About 37% took a guided tours spending SEK980 while those exploring individually spent about SEK480.
Feedback on the city gave the highest marks to the green areas, the friendliness and language skills of the people and the level of service among taxi drivers. However passengers were not so satisfied with the transport to and from the city centre and felt the information at the quayside on what to do and see could be improved.
