Is Rovinj in for the Dubrovnik treatment?
As Morski writes on the 25th of May, 2018, Rovinj harbour is set to see as many as 80 cruise ships on round trips enter its waters this year, a number which marks fifteen more than there were in Rovinj last year. The general expectation from the Rovinj Port Authority is that traffic will increase by as much as ten percent. More than 4,000 guests will arrive in the most tourist oriented Istrian town, Radio Pula reports.
Rovinj’s first cruise ship of the year sailed on January the 1st, and since then, a further 29 cruise ships have made their way to Rovinj harbour. During the main tourist season, cruise ships are set to sail almost daily into the popular Istrian town, with the most traffic of this sort coming from ships making return trips annually, says the director of the Rovinj Port Authority, Donald Schiozzi.
Schiozzi added that to Rovinj’s Port Authority has worked hard to adapt their infrastructure to increase their ease of acceptance of big cruise ships. The infrastructure is satisfactory for small vessels with lengths of 150 to 200 metres, which is otherwise the most typical size of so-called ”boutique” cruisers. According to Schiozzi, tourists with higher spending power tend to arrive on such ships.
Alongside the aforementioned cruise ships set to grace Rovinj’s increasingly busy harbour this season, both liner (regular line) and excursion boats will be taking sail. Such vessels tend to be seasonal and travel between Croatia and Italy. This year they will be sailing on the Trieste – Rovinj – Pula and Mali Lošinj route(s).
While regular line ships will end their sailing schedules sometime in late September, cruisers will stay in Rovinj until the very end of November. This has significantly extended the season for the arrival of cruise ships, for which, marketing and a lot of work is responsible, noted Donald Schiozzi.
Owing to all the more attention gradually being paid to a more than deserving Rovinj, and to Istria’s many hidden and overlooked gems in general, it can be said that Rovinj is increasing in its popularity, and is well on its way to becoming a year round cruise destination.
