On Sunday evening, August 7, the 10-millionth cruise passenger arrived at Rīga Free Port (Latvia).
It was a woman from Bavaria who sailed with a husband and son on a voyage in the Baltic Sea, the Riga Free Port revealed.
Passengers arrived in Riga aboard the Costa Cruises' ship Costa Fascinosa, which has a capacity of 3800 people.
A special ceremony took place at the cruise port, welcoming the 10-millionth tourist.
This cruise season at the port of Riga could reach a record number of cruise ship calls, over 100 this season, which will exceed the last full cruise season back in 2019 by a quarter. Since 2000, ~8200 passenger ships have been registered in Riga port.
Port Riga is Latvia's principal port, capital, and largest city (population of ~ 650,000, metro 1+ million), and also among Northern Europe's major financial and economic centers. The Port is on the Daugava River, ~15 km (10 mi) from the Baltic Sea (Riga Gulf). About half of all Latvian jobs are in Riga. The city generates over 50% of the country's GDP and handles ~50% of all exports. The largest exporters are in the industries of IT technologies and applications, wood products, food and beverage manufacturing, transportation, metallurgy, and pharmaceuticals. Annually, Riga is visited by ~2,3 million tourists.