Danish Ports: Full support for cruises

The cruise ship "Vasco Da Gama" called at a number of Danish ports in July. Here Copenhagen on July 14, where the police checked the guests. Photo: Danish Ports

5.8.2021 12:56:29 | Danish Ports

It is sad that cruise guests in Denmark are treated differently from other tourists. It costs Denmark dearly and we are losing jobs, according to the trade organization Danish Ports

"The cruise industry has our full support and sympathy. It is wrong that we in Denmark make a difference between good guests from a cruise ship and other guests to Denmark." These are the words of Tine Kirk, director of the industry organization Danish Ports, in a comment on new figures showing that Denmark has fallen 96 percent on cruise calls during the Corona pandemic, and that more Danish restrictions than neighboring countries on cruise tourism have reinforced the already disastrous development.

Tine Kirk:

"It seems very unconstructive that we have stubbornly stuck to unusually strict requirements for cruise tourists while at the same time opening up almost everything else and removing one restriction after another. Just not for cruise tourists who want to go ashore and experience Denmark. Even in a summer where the weather and heat have contributed to making our cities, whether it is Copenhagen, Fredericia, Aalborg or Skagen, appear even more beautiful. This means that cruises are now sailing around Denmark - this obviously costs revenue, but it also costs jobs."

Same rules for all

In mid-July, the cruise ship 'Vasco Da Gama' called at a number of Danish ports from Copenhagen to Skagen. The ship had almost 400 fully vaccinated German guests on board, all of whom were allowed to disembark. The police checked that the rules were respected. When the ship began its tour of Denmark on July 14 in Copenhagen, it was the first time since 2019 that cruise guests were allowed to disembark in Denmark.

The cruise industry is frustrated that full vaccination is required for cruise ship passengers disembarking in Denmark, when other tourists can enter Denmark by any other means without facing a vaccination requirement.

"Clearly, exactly the same rules should apply to all kinds of tourists. This is blatantly discriminating against a single group and an entire industry," says Tine Kirk, who calls on the government to change tack now. The season will soon be over, but this will give the industry reasonable and fair guidelines to work from. In Copenhagen alone, almost one million cruise tourists came in 2019. In 2019, there were also more than 300,000 hotel stays in Copenhagen in connection with cruises - guests that the already hard-pressed hotels are now also lacking.