The number of cruise ship passengers visiting Dubrovnik in Croatia has risen 4.2 percent year-on-year, said Dubrovnik Port Authority Director Vlaho Djurkovic on March 4.

He added that the government’s decision to lift visa requirements for foreigners had been to the city’s advantage; in the past, many tourists had decided to stay on their ships after arriving in Dubrovnik because they had no visas and did not want to pay for special permission to visit.

Several well known ships are expected to call at Dubrovnik this year, including ‘MSC Magnifica’, ‘Silver Spirit’, ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’, ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and ‘Celebrity Equinox’.