ESTONIA. Leading Baltic ferry line AS Tallink Grupp handled 648,814 passengers in October, a surge of +23.2% compared to October last year. The company said that passenger numbers increased on all major routes, as did its share of the market.
On the Finland-Estonia route Tallink reported 285,965 passengers in October, which is up +34.7% on last year. On the Sweden-Finland route the passenger numbers increased by +17.5% to 268,327.
The growth on the Sweden-Finland route is particularly noteworthy, said Purchasing Director Magnus Skjörshammer. He told The Moodie Report: “The +17.5% increase was very important for us in retail terms. Sweden-Finland accounts for around 40% of our sales. It’s a major route, so this is very good news.”
On the Latvia-Sweden route Tallink serviced 34,081 passengers (+34%) during the month. On the Sweden-Estonia route passenger numbers increased by +7.2% to 54,448. On the Germany-Finland route the company serviced 5,993 passengers, a decrease of -37.4%. That negative result was influenced by the removal of one service from the route in September, leaving two Superfast ferries operating.
Skjörshammer said: “When economic times get tough, people are more likely to travel shorter distances and to travel by ship. We have seen this trend before. We had a strong summer, and September and October have seen very good growth. There’s a healthy outlook for the cruise ferry business on Baltic routes. We look forward to a very strong 2009.”
He added: “We are also seeing good increases in sales at the moment, notably in tobacco and confectionery. The upgrading of our fleet, and the introduction of new ships, will also help to improve the passenger experience in the year ahead.”
AS Tallink Grupp is the leading passenger shipping company on the Baltic Sea, operating under the Tallink and Silja Line brands on seven different shipping routes. The company owns 19 vessels.
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