Another busy cruiser year in store for Dubrovnik.
According to current indications, in 2016 the port of Gruž in Dubrovnik will welcome 491 cruise ships, with a total capacity of about 803,000 passengers, which is equal to a city the size of Zagreb. In comparison with 2015, that would be about three percent more cruise ships, but about one percent less passengers, which is a result of reduction in the average size of ships calling at the port of Gruž, reports Poslovni.hr on January 6, 2016.
The trend has been noticeable for the last several years, with the average ship in the port of Gruž being about four percent smaller than earlier. However, this statistical decrease does not mean that the port will see only small cruisers, since the largest group of cruisers which are expected will have an average capacity of 2,758 passengers. Such shifts in the average size of cruisers coming to Dubrovnik once again demonstrate the fact that cruisers are actually floating hotels whose owners adapt to the needs of the market, shifting their capacities according to market requirements and other reasons.
This has been confirmed by Antun Asić, director of the Dubrovnik Port Authority, who noted that the season of arrivals of medium and large cruise ships in 2016 will begin in mid-March, which is about twenty days earlier than last year. The season will last until mid-December, which will make this cruising season more than a month longer than in 2015, giving an important contribution to the efforts of Tourism Ministry to extend the tourist season in Croatia as much as possible.
The Dubrovnik Port Authority says that, among the more significant business developments for this year, very important is the continuation of cooperation with the “Thomson Cruises” company on the project of the home port, which means that Dubrovnik will be a port of embarkation for many passengers. They are also proud of the fact that there will be three new ships coming to Dubrovnik this year, “Viking Sea”, “Konigsdam” and “Carnival Vista”, which will visit the port of Gruž several times during the year.
