Amsterdam benefits from river cruise boom
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Amsterdam is benefitting from the boom in river cruising as the number of ocean cruise ship calls falls.
The Dutch cruise port, along with Ijmuiden, has revealed the number of ocean ships that visited in 2013 fell 6% year-on-year in 2013, compared to 1,500 river ship calls to Amsterdam alone.
While the ocean ship visits will grow from 176 in 2013 to 189 calls this year, the river sector will remain its strongest. Its credentials as one of the top river cruise points was backed by Viking River Cruises which recently christened nine new ships in the port.
The cruise industry is thought to be now worth EUR150 million to the region’s economy. Cruise passenger numbers to the region were approximately at the 650,000 mark, compared to 470,000 in 2008.
The port is now planning a new website with more content aimed at tours operators and shipping owners and will develop its partnership with Amsterdam Marketing to promote cruises to potential tourist markets.
More local businesses and attractions are also becoming partners of the Amsterdam Cruise Port including most recently the Rijksmuseum and Zaanse Schans.
Comments are closed.