The recent Baltic summer holiday period drew large passenger volumes to Viking Line’s ropaxes, the company claimed.
Viking’s peak season continued well into August thanks to international tourists arriving in Finland.
For the first time, people could travel totally fossil-free on Viking Line’s vessels.
Between June and August, a total of 1,780,000 passengers travelled on the ferries, which is more than in the same period last year.
Cargo volume on the company’s five vessels increased 3.6%. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions decreased thanks to a substantial increase in biofuel purchases.
This past summer was the first time that Viking Line’s passengers could choose a totally fossil fuel-free option when they booked their journeys.
Nearly 740,000 passengers travelled between Helsinki and Tallinn during the summer months, with increased capacity provided by ‘Viking Cinderella’ and ‘Gabriella’, alongside ‘Viking XPRS’.
There were also almost 740,000 passengers travelling between Turku and Stockholm and 305,000 on the Helsinki/Stockholm route.
“This summer met our expectations, and we are satisfied with the passenger volumes on all our routes. The cold weather in early summer affected the figures somewhat, but the heat wave in July led many people to book a trip on the sea.
“We are especially pleased that traffic on our Estonian route continued the growth it has experienced for many years despite increased competition. We have great faith in the route and presented a plan early this summer for a brand new electric-powered ferry concept for the Helsinki/Tallinn route,” explained Viking Line’s Deputy CEO, Peter Hellgren.
Customer satisfaction during the summer season reached its highest level ever based on the company’s net promotor scores (NPS).
“Summer is a good time on board. The clear increase in customer satisfaction compared to last year shows that our crew and land-based staff have done an excellent job and taken good care of our customers. For us, it’s a point of honour to offer people memorable holiday experiences,” Hellgren added.
“The local tourism trend has been on the rise for about five years and shows no sign of slowing down. The popularity of Åland as a destination is apparent, with the tourist season nowadays running well into the autumn,” said Viking Line’s Communications Director, Johanna Boijer-Svahnström.
The Baltic summer season continued into August thanks to international travellers. More and more travellers now come from Germany and other parts of Central Europe, while the fastest growth was in the number of Chinese tourists.
“When school starts in Finland, the summer season comes to an abrupt end. From the perspective of actors in the tourism industry, it would be ideal if the school holiday period were extended so that it ends in mid-August. Then holidaymakers could enjoy the warmth of summer longer, and at the same time a growing number of international tourists would have access to more services,” Boijer-Svahnström added.
Viking Line’s passenger figures, June/August 2025:
* Helsinki/Tallinn: 737,848 passengers
* Turku/Stockholm: 738,684 passengers
* Helsinki/Stockholm: 303,562 passengers
* Total number of passengers: 1,780,094.
