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Finland’s Port of Helsinki has seen another record cruise season with 254 international cruise ships visiting the port between May and October.

This year’s numbers show that 437,000 international cruise visitors came to Helsinki which is 17,000 more than in 2014. The port expects this number to climb even further next year.

“This shows how Helsinki is still one of the most attractive destinations in the Baltic Sea,” says Noora Heino, Cruise Manager at Visit Helsinki.

Visitors from Germany represent the biggest share of cruise visitors to Helsinki, followed by visitors from the USA and Great Britain.

International cruise tourism is experiencing rapid growth worldwide, seen through the number of new cruise ships built and ordered recently.

While the biggest growth right now is in Asia, Finland and Helsinki are expected to attract their own share among the increasing numbers of different cruise visitors. At the same time, cruise operators are actively seeking new consumer segments to fill their cruises, as a result of which the profile of cruise visitors is changing.

“These days the different consumer segments and their special needs are taken into consideration already during the design and construction phase of the new cruise ships. Cruise operators are also profiling more and providing more specialised services onboard,” Heino adds.