Estonia, Good for Business, Port, Tourism, Transport

"Tickets to that cruise are being sold already. That cruise companies set down their schedules a year and a half or even more in advance is logical," AS Parnu Sadam member of the supervisory board Kaspar Kokk told BNS.

Serenissima is about 100 meters long and accommodates up to 100 passengers.

This year, for instance, Serenissima paid one visit to the Estonian island of Saaremaa.

"The route of the cruise ship is such that it will come from Riga and make a stopover at the city center harbor in Parnu before heading to Saaremaa," Kokk said.

He said that if stopovers by the ship become regular this could significantly prolong the tourism season in Parnu and make it richer. Compared with the peak tourism season, which in Parnu lasts two months, the cruise season lasts about 5-6 months.

Kokk told BNS at the end of September the cruise ship operator Silver Sea, which operates cruises to Tallinn, is considering the possibility of picking the southwestern Estonian sea resort Parnu as a destination and has sent to the port of Parnu price inquiries concerning three different vessels for 2016.

"We've been approached by the ship agent Inflot, which as far as I know has the biggest number of cruise ship operators as customers in the Baltic Sea," Kokk said.

Kokk said that for the port company 2016 seemed too close, as in the cruise business plans are made for a longer period ahead. However, if Silver Sea wishes its ships to make a stopover in Parnu next summer they will have the possibility to do it.