There can be really good business in opening an ice cream kiosk or a café with outdoor seating at the traffic harbor in Rødbyhavn. The neighbor attracts guests in style. 37,294 curious visitors visited Femern A/S’ exhibition center in Rødbyhavn this year. That is over 14,000 more guests than in 2021.
It is incredible
Communications manager Morten Kramer Nielsen from Femern A/S is excited and surprised by the high number of visitors, even though he didn’t really have concrete expectations:
– It has been difficult to expect anything. The old visitor center had about 1,000 visitors a year. But that was also before construction really got underway. But we didn’t expect this. It is incredible, says Morten Kramer Nielsen.
Many German guests
The many curious guests come from both the Netherlands and abroad. Not least the German tourists are very interested in seeing what actually goes on at the construction site. Femern A/S also has an exhibition in Burg on Fehmarn, but it is not nearly as close to where the work actually takes place. The construction site on Lolland is many times larger than the corresponding one on Fehmarn because it is at Rødbyhavn that the actual work of casting the gigantic tunnel elements must take place.
Need to hire more guides
Femern A/S has taken the consequence of the high visitor numbers. They are currently hiring a small handful of new guides to supplement the seven who are already ready to welcome guests in Rødbyhavn.
It is free to visit the exhibition center and it must continue to be, says Morten Kramer Nielsen. Even if the many visitors could have easily financed the entire operation of the visitor center and then some by just paying 3-5 euros for entrance:
Cars and trains must pay – not guests
-It is part of our information obligation as a state-owned company to give the public access. And it is the cars and trains that will drive through the tunnel that will finance the project. It will also cause some administrative work if entrance fees have to be paid. After all, we can’t just set up a cigar box for a pittance, says Femern A/S’s communications manager.
Doesn’t do it to make money
The many visitors also have to leave the exhibition center disappointed, if they expected ice cream and something to quench their thirst in connection with the visit:
– We don’t do it to make money. Not even on ice cream and sausages. Then they have to go down Havnegade. And we hope that our guests will go out and spend some money in the local area, says Morten Kramer Nielsen.
Expects more next year
Femern A/S’ exhibition center in Rødby will be closed until after the New Year and will use the Christmas holidays to rebuild a bit so that you are ready to hit the road in earnest this spring. The developer expects that even more visitors will come to the exhibition center in 2023.
