Today, the First Steamship Company and the Tourism Organization of the City of Novi Sad welcomed the first passenger ship in 2024 in Novi Sad, which officially opened the tourist cruise ship season in our city. First Brodokomerc pontoon saw the arrival of Amaverde, with about 120 passengers from the United States of America, and a reception was organized with traditional food and music program.
Upon docking, guests could taste the wines of the Novi Sad Wine Road, as well as hear the famous tamburica melodies of Zoran Bugarski – Brica and the Tamburica Culture Center. They were greeted by girls in folk costumes of the Vila Folklore Ensemble, upon which they went on a tour of the city.
The event was attended by Branislav Knežević, director of the Tourism Organization of the City of Novi Sad, Ksenija Hajduković from the Port Management Agency, Ivana Mihailović from the First Steamship Company and the representatives of Novi Sad winemakers.
The guests of the ship are on a seven-day tour of the Danube. The cruise is called “The Jewels of Southeast Europe”, and it starts in Budapest, where they boarded, and then on to the port of Giurgiu in Romania, while the program ends with a tour of Bucharest. In Serbia, they land in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Golubac. In Novi Sad, they are offered three tours: a walking tour of the city center, a tour of the Petrovaradin Fortress and a cycling tour.
In the nautical season of 2024, more than 400 cruise ship docks in Novi Sad were announced, which is 10% more than in the previous year. According to the data of the Port Management Agency, in 2023, 373 docks with 47,775 passengers were recorded in the ports in Novi Sad.
According to the data obtained from the First Steamship Company, the structure of passengers is mostly made up of guests from German-speaking countries, followed by tourists from the United States and France. Boats stay in the city for an average of one day, so programs and visits are adapted as half-day or full-day excursions. The guest tour programs mainly include the city center and the Petrovaradin Fortress, but also Fruška Gora monasteries and hiking trails, Sremski Karlovci and wineries. Workshops for preparing local food at Čenej salaši, visits to art studios at the fortress or museums and galleries are also on offer. The news for this season is that the first groups of Chinese tourists on river cruises have also been announced.
