Port of Gdańsk at the largest cruise trade fair in the world
Seatrade Cruise Global 2023 took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, between 27 and 30 March. The Port of Gdańsk presented what it offers, attracting representatives from the cruise industry with the beauty of Pomorskie, as well as famous people from Gdańsk.
‘Daniel Fahrenheit was born here’ – was the motto of a meeting where it was possible to talk about what the Port of Gdańsk offers, as well as to watch material promoting the region.
“Monumental Gdańsk and the whole of Pomorskie, with its Baltic beaches, Kashubian lakes and forests, is an ideal destination for visitors, not only from Europe, but from all over the world. We want to show the incredible potential of the Port of Gdańsk, telling everyone about what we have here. This year’s fair is all the more important for us because what Gdańsk, along with its port and city, is offering makes an excellent alternative to St. Petersburg for a minimum of 3-5 years. The current situation with cruise ships, which do not call at the Port of St. Petersburg ‘Marine Facade’, is an opportunity that we must want to take advantage of,” says Sławomir Michalewski, Vice-President of the Port of Gdańsk.
The fair is an excellent opportunity to present what we offer. Every year 60 to 80 passenger ships call at the Port of Gdańsk, with tens of thousands of people on board. The capital of Pomorskie is visited by people hungry for beautiful sights along with huge monuments, wanting to visit the most interesting places along the Polish coast.
The cruise ship market has clearly bounced back after the pandemic. In 2022, the Port of Gdańsk serviced 79 vessels with 29,500 passengers on board. This was the best year ever, both in terms of the number of vessels calling at the port and the revenue from port fees, which was nearly 2.5 times higher than the previous 2018 record. This year promises to be just as good. The first vessel to arrive in the Port of Gdańsk will be the ‘Hamburg’, on 20 April. The longest ship to visit Gdańsk will be the Explora II, measuring 248 metres. Its arrival is scheduled for 13 August. This year, the Port of Gdańsk plans to end the season in an unusual way, which it plans do so just before Christmas, on 17 December.
Seatrade Cruise Global is a great opportunity to meet the representatives from the cruise industry, top cruise ship owners like Crystal Cruises, Royal Carribean Cruise Lines, Saga Shipping, Carnival Cruise Line, and Disney Cruises. Seatrade Cruise Global features more than 500 exhibitors from over 140 countries, with around 170 speakers each year to discuss the hottest trends in the industry and the future of cruising.
“We create port tariffs to ensure a friendly service for cruise ship operators. We focus primarily on offering an attractive tariff that allows them to cost-effectively plan the arrival of their ships at the Port of Gdańsk, by applying a progressive rate depending on the number of calls. The destination is not only the city of Gdańsk, but the entire Pomorskie region, which has many attractions, including the largest medieval castle in Malbork and facilities for golf players located 30 minutes from the port. In addition to the activities at the stand, we have extended what we offer to the cruise industry by organising a dedicated briefing meeting, during which we introduced the port, the city and the region. During the meeting, we were joined by our long-standing business partner, the Baltic Gateway tour operator, which has been in the Port of Gdańsk for almost 30 years,” says Michał Stupak, the customer manager at the Port of Gdańsk.
Contact for the media:
Anna Drozd – spokesperson for the Port of Gdańsk
e-mail: anna.drozd@portgdansk.pl
tel.: (+48) 727 064 605
