FERRY TO SWEDEN PREPARES FOR ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE

The Princess Anastasia ferry to Stockholm is scheduled to embark on its first voyage on Thursday, March 31.

The Nordic capitals will become closer to Petersburg with the launch of the new ferry. The Princess Maria already connects St. Petersburg with Helsinki, and the Princess Anastasia will shuttle passengers to the Swedish capital, docking in Stockholm after a 25-hour voyage.

The launch of the new ferry looks set to be one of the most important events of this year in the development of tourism between Russia and Sweden. According to VisitSweden, the country’s tourism union, the volume of tourists traveling from Russia to Sweden increased by 15 percent in 2010. The most popular Swedish destination among Russians is Stockholm: More than 60 percent of Russians who vacation in Sweden choose to spend their holiday in the capital.

“We think that with the launch of the new ferry line, the growth of interest in Sweden will in turn increase the number of tourists coming from Russia to Sweden by 20 to 25 percent,” said Alexander Panko, head of VisitSweden’s Russian office.

The new ferry will run twice a week. At weekends, it will also stop in Tallinn, where guests will have about six hours to explore the Estonian capital.

According to data from St. Peter Line, the company that operates the ferries to Stockholm and Helsinki, the ferry will be the cheapest and most comfortable way to travel to Stockholm with a car. The Princess Anastasia has 800 cabins, and the cheapest price for a round trip is 300 euros per cabin, or 75 euros per person.

The ferry is expected to bring about 400,000 more tourists to St. Petersburg in 2011, according to St. Peter Line data. The Princess Maria and Princess Anastasia are together expected to bring one million passengers a year.
SOURCE:sptimesrussia.com