Greenock Ocean Terminal anticipates record year in 2011
For Immediate Release - 07 January, 2011
Greenock Ocean Terminal's 2011 cruise season will be its busiest yet, with 36 ships already booked to call, bringing 53,933 passengers – up on last year.
The Ocean Terminal's cruise facility, on which £250,000 has been invested, is looking forward to welcoming 11 new ships such as Cunard's brand new Queen Elizabeth and P&O’s Adonia for the first time – as well as hosting repeat visits from some familiar faces such as the giant 3,000-passenger Grand Princess and the QM2.
The terminal is also building a reputation as a starting point for cruises, with a total of 8,414 passengers embarking next year on 12 cruises organised by operators Hebridean Cruises, Nova Cruising, The National Trust and Fred Olsen.
Owner Clydeport is a member of Cruise Scotland, the organisation set up to promote and market the country's ports internationally. December saw the launch at the Scottish Parliament of the study Cruise Tourism in Scotland – The Way Ahead, commissioned by Cruise Scotland, which shows that the domestic cruise industry has the potential to more than quadruple visitor numbers to almost 1.1 million, increase direct expenditure to £156.7m and employ 2,500 people by 2029.
Andrew Hemphill, Clydeport's General Manager at Ocean Terminal, said: "The Cruise Scotland report clearly shows the massive potential of the industry, and year on year we have been building the cruise business at Greenock, with 2011 the best to date. Last year we broke the 50,000 passenger barrier for the first time, which was a fantastic achievement, and it is testament to the efforts that have been made to improve the experience of overseas visitors arriving at Greenock that we have again significantly upped our figures.
"Greenock is ideally placed for Scots passengers wishing to leave from a local port, as can be seen by the number of major operators using us as an embarkation point. Instead of having to travel long distances south to English ports, your holiday can start just after you leave home."
Greenock is fast becoming an important cruise port vital to Scottish tourism as a gateway for overseas visitors. Last year it saw the highly-publicised first visit of the new Cunarder Queen Victoria in July.
The cruise facility is key to the increased success of the terminal, and Clydeport, Riverside Inverclyde and Inverclyde Council jointly funded the partnership project that has vastly improved both the appearance and functionality of the arrivals hall – the first experience thousands of overseas cruise passengers every year have of Scotland.
Many of passengers coming to Greenock will disembark for an experience of Scotland, including tours to Glasgow, Loch Lomond and as far afield as Stirling and. Edinburgh. However a substantial number spend money in Greenock, as do the crew, taking advantage of shore leave, and it is estimated that the cruise business now brings over £2m a year into the Inverclyde economy.
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