Cruise ships steer clear of Copenhagen

Waterborne tourists avoid the capital because its attractions are too hard to reach

Copenhagen is northern Europe's biggest cruise ship destination, but its popularity is going down for the second year in a row.

Berlingske reports that the number of cruise ships scheduled to dock in Copenhagen in 2014 is 312, compared to 348 visits in 2013, and the number of cruise ship tourists is expected to fall by six percent from 798,000 to 750,000 by the end of the summer holiday season.

Along with the five percent fall last year, this year continues the trend downwards since 2012, a record year during which 840,000 cruise ship tourists visited the capital.

Hard ticket to the sites
Claus Bødker, head of Cruise Copenhagen Network told Berlingske that it is presumably due to traffic complications that the wealthy waterborne tourists skip Copenhagen. 

"It's still hard for tourist buses to get permission to drop people off close enough to the attractions, and it helps explain why Copenhagen has become a less attractive destination to visit than it used to be."

More traffic restrictions, extensive building projects and especially metro construction sites are the reasons cited for cruises avoiding the city.




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