RIGA, Sept 2 (LETA) - Riga has welcomed 28,000 German cruise ship tourists so far this year, LETA was told at the Freeport of Riga Authority.

The German tourists make up 37 percent of all cruise ship passengers visiting Riga this season.

On Monday, September 1, the Aidadiva and Aidamar ships of the German cruise line Aida Cruises brought 4,892 tourists to Riga, 97 percent of whom were cruise travelers from Germany.

Representatives of the freeport noted that in recent years more than a third of all cruise travelers visiting Riga have been from Germany, making up the largest share of cruise passengers at the Freeport of Riga.

This year, ships of the Aida Cruises fleet have made seven calls at the Freeport of Riga, with ship calls from this company expected to reach 11 by the end of the year, which is the highest number of ship calls among all cruise operators. In addition to the scheduled ship calls, Aida Cruises has announced two more offseason visits by the Aidaprima cruise ship - on November 17 and December 17.

During the 2025 cruise season, the Freeport of Riga has received 64 cruise ships with 80,000 passengers, which is almost as many as during the full 2024, the freeport said.

Another 19 cruise ship calls have been booked for this September and October. In all, Riga expects to receive 86 cruise ships this year, which would be 30 percent more than last year, and 90 cruise ship calls have been booked for 2026.