Passenger numbers increasing again

The Port of Helsinki was the busiest international passenger port in Europe for the third consecutive year. In 2019, a total of 12.2 million passengers travelled through the Port of Helsinki. This was one percent more than the year before.

Regular liner traffic saw 11.6 million passengers (+0.4%).

The Port of Helsinki’s market share of the passenger liner traffic in mainland Finland’s sea ports is 79.7%.

A ship route to Tallinn opens up a united economic area and a gateway to Central Europe

The Helsinki–Tallinn route showed an upward trend again. The route saw 8.9 million passengers (+0.8%) last year, which equals nearly 77% of all passengers in liner traffic at the Port of Helsinki.

Furthermore, Eckerö Line opened a new ship route from Vuosaari Harbour to Muuga in Tallinn in June, which also had a positive effect on passenger traffic.

Helsinki and Tallinn are in many ways developing as twin cities where both tourists and workers are moving between the two sides. The busy RoPax traffic between the cities forms a traffic connection over the Gulf of Finland that is crucial for both people and business life. It is predicted that the route will remain popular in the future, as well, as the joint economic area of the capitals of Finland and Estonia develops and the popularity of local tourism grows.

Passenger traffic

Liner traffic 2017 2018 2019 Change-% 19/18
Stockholm 2 335 000 2 286 000 2 262 000 -1.2%
Tallinn 9 012 000 8 846 000 8 925 000 0.8%
St. Petersburg 210 000 209 000 196 000 -6.5%
Travemünde 148 000 151 000 158 000 4.6%
Mariehamn 43 000 44 000 48 000 12.7%
Others 28 000 22 000  24 000 10.3%
TOTAL 11 776 000 11 558 000 11 614 000 0.4%

Development of other routes fairly even

Passenger numbers between Helsinki and Stockholm remained at a steady level, and the route saw 2.3 million passengers (-1.2%).

On the St. Petersburg route, there were nearly 200,000 passengers, which is 6.5% lower than in the previous year. Among other factors, the grounding incident of the Princess Anastasia in November and the ensuing docking decreased passenger numbers on the St. Petersburg route.

The route between Helsinki and Travemünde, Germany, is a gateway to Germany and Central Europe, and route saw 158,000 passengers (+ 4.6%).

City centre’s passenger harbours

2017 2018 2019
Passengers of liner traffic 11 589 000 11 372 000 11 614 000
Passengers of international
cruise traffic
478 000 518 000 605 000
Vehicles 1 838 000 1 982 000 1 988 000
Ship visits 6 438 5 519 5 578

Significant increase in international cruise traffic

International cruise traffic in Helsinki broke a new record in 2019: as many as 605,000 cruise ship passengers visited the city, which surpassed the previous year’s numbers by 16.7%. Read more about the cruise summer.
Read more about the cruise traffic