A campaign aiming to encourage more cruise passengers from the UK to the Baltic Sea region has been launched.
The 10 countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden – make up the Cruise Baltic alliance, offering 19 ports of call.
Baltic Sea destinations are claimed to be the world's fastest-growing cruise holiday market, with 2.3 million visitors from 2,079 dockings in 2006. This represents a growth of 13% compared with global growth of less than nine percent over the same period.
Visit Denmark UK & Ireland director Henrik Kahn, spokesman for Cruise Baltic project's UK representatives, said: "The project, which started in 2004, is now ready to go out to the UK market and the first thing we have done is to make it easy for consumers to choose the Baltic Sea region as a destination.
"They will, as from today, be able to log into
Cruise Baltic - Frontpage to find out all about the region, its destinations, history, culture and sights.
"In May, we will also be launching a web-based educational tool to travel agents. This will give them expertise knowledge about the Baltic region as a cruise destination."
A consumer competition to win a 12-night Baltic cruise for two with Fred Olsen Cruises is being run in conjuction with the UK launch.
Cruise Baltic's newly-appointed project director Bo Nylandsted Larsen said: "The Baltic Sea region ranks high on the lists of the world's cruise passengers when choosing a destination for their holiday. Within just five years it has become the world's fastest growing cruise region.
"There was a time when most people planning on taking a cruise dreamed of a sunny holiday beneath warm skies. These days, however, when cruise tourists plan their annual holiday more and more are putting the Baltic region at the top of their wish list. I think we have a lot to offer, with a wealth of entertainment, culture, architecture and history in each of our destinations.
"It is our intention to ensure that passenger growth continues, thanks to the combined know-how of the partners involved."
(travelmole)
New Baltic Cruise iniative 
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