Visby terminal to be inaugurated in April



Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - 09:30 by ce-press

A cruise terminal will be inaugurated in Visby on April 29. Intensive preparations are now underway to boost Gotland as a destination. The number of passengers will double as early as 2018.

Since winter 2016 about 130,000m3 has been dredged to achieve a depth of water of 11m. The land area at the quay is 12,000m2 and accommodates everything from the terminal building to parking places for transfer buses and taxis.

“Two cruise ships of up to 340m can dock at the quay at the same time. And the land area will have room for 20 buses at the same time,” reports Harald Grottvik, project manager for the cruise quay.

The first cruiseship will arrive in mid-April, so it is a busy time for CMP’s terminal manager Henrik Ahlqvist. “We will receive 70 arrivals with some 90,000 passengers in 2018. This can be compared with 2017 when Visby had 59 arrivals and some 40,000 passengers. The increased number of passengers is linked with the fact that we can receive larger ships at the new quay.”

Whilst destinations such as Stockholm, Tallinn and St Petersburg dominate the Baltic services, at the same time there is major interest in detours to smaller ports, such as Visby. Much of the work involving cruise tourism is handled via Gotland Cruise Network, where different actors have grouped together in order to develop Gotland as a cruise destination.

“It is the numbers of day tourists from abroad that are increasing and placing requirements on everything from transport and infrastructure to guides with good language skills, wifi services, tax-free service and shops which can handle foreign currency,” says Monika Frisk, operating manager, Gotland Tourism Business Association. “Many of them will probably stay in Visby to shop and explore the city, but we will also be offering programmes of excursion for those who want to see more of Gotland.”

It is also a busy time at the cruise quays. Tove Turesson is PR officer for the project and maintains communication with both Gotlanders and those responsible for the construction project. “The aim is to provide up-to-date information and influence attitudes towards an initiative that is good for Gotland, for example, as cruise tourism extends the season for the tourism industry.”

In June Gotlanders were invited to attend Gotland Open Cruise Day, where they had the opportunity to learn more about cruise traffic to the island and visit a cruise ship.

”And then we will naturally be planning for the inauguration, which will be taking place on April 29.” Tove Turesson says.
Visby terminal to be inaugurated in April
(c) CMP





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