Cruise companies were looking for new and unusual European cruise stops before the pandemic. Interest in Liepāja has been partly driven by the geopolitical situation which has excluded St Petersburg in Russia as one of the destinations. Liepaja currently uses freight terminal berths to accommodate cruises and has no alternative for the time being. Tourists are offered to visit the Old Town and the Naval Port.
Liepāja has been visited by 10 cruise ships operated by US companies in the last three years. This week, a cruise ship with 684 passengers docked in the Port of Liepāja, about half of them taking the opportunity to visit the city.
Linda Rozentāle-Roze, a certified guide from the City of Liepaja, met the passengers at the bus and then joined them on a tour of Liepaja's architecture and art. She talked about her experiences and conclusions:
"People are generally interested in this region, as cruise passengers are often visiting the Baltic States for the first time. They are very surprised, there is a lot of positive feedback. There are a lot more good things than they expected.
"Expectations are very different. Knowing our history, they are very pleasantly surprised by what they see in Liepāja. They are impressed by Paul Max Bertschy's architecture, the restored buildings, such as the new 17th-19th century interior museum."
Jānis Vilciņš, Cruise Ship Service Manager at Riga Cruiseship Agency, said that the US company has been visiting Liepaja for three years now and this is the result of a purposeful cooperation with the Liepaja Regional Tourism Office to have another interesting stop in addition to Riga:
"The result is very good, because when people come here they expect almost nothing. They leave very satisfied. We see a better future with more ships in Liepāja. We have attracted the interest of several big cruise lines, also big US companies. [..] We offer them Liepāja, also in combination with the Karosta Naval Port. The art and architecture tour is very popular. Liepaja is famous for its architecture and there is a lot to see here."
Vilciņš said that the Liepaja Regional Tourism Office is coping well with its tasks and provides both guide services and other necessary services, but there will be challenges in the future if the share of cruise ships increases:
"If more cruise ships come, the challenge could be the availability of guides. There are enough English speakers; if there are Spanish or Italian speakers coming, then Liepaja could have those challenges. Also the availability of transport. I would like to be able to compare Liepāja with Klaipeda."
Sintija Pusaudze, Head of the Liepaja Regional Tourism Office, said:
"Some ports are shifting after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Liepaja definitely benefited when cruise ships stopped sailing to St Petersburg. There was no cruise ship in June, but the number of foreign tourists in Liepaja was up by almost 14%, which is not a usual figure for June, because June has always been a quiet month due to the unpredictability of the weather."
Uldis Hmieļevskis (Liepaja Party), the Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) manager, said that initially it seemed that the port of Liepaja was not suitable for cruise ships and they would not want to dock here because there was no special berth for cruise ships.
Even now the challenge is to make sure that when a cruise ship comes, a cargo ship does not land in the port, Hmieļevskis stressed. So far, it has been possible to adapt.
"We are in the active commercial part of the port, among the grain terminals where Latvian farmers tranship their grain. The ferry dock, where some tractors and machines are about to arrive from Germany, chips. Quite an industrial environment. However, cruise companies are looking for new locations to take their passengers and clients," said Hmielevskis.
He pointed out that the construction of a berth is not a cheap pleasure and should attract a private investor. A specific location has not yet been chosen, nor has the investor and the necessary investment.
