Lithuania, Port, Tourism, Transport

Kristina Gontier, spokeswoman for the port, says cruise shipping is one the most coronavirus-hit businesses.

"A bankruptcy wave has engulfed the world, with four companies suspending activity in the Baltic Sea alone, and several cruise lines have decided to recall their ships from the Baltic Sea region, to cut routes and carry a smaller number of passengers," she said.

In her words, analysts expect cruise shipping to recover only after 2 or three years, but the sector is already adapting to new conditions.

"Cruise shipping is transforming and adapting to new conditions as smaller cruise ships are gaining popularity. Therefore, we expected the number of ship entries to grow," the port representative said.

This year had been expected to be a record year in terms of cruise ships and passengers for Klaipeda as the port expected to welcome 66 ships and around 80,000 passengers, and the cruise season was expected to be the longest in the port's history.

But the number of tourists brought to Klaipeda plunged 51.4% to 151,400 in the first eight months of this year.