Scotland's cruise industry and economy are benefiting from rising passenger and ship numbers
By
Sean Dudley |
This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
The cruise industry in Scotland enjoyed a hugely successful year in 2015, with the number of records tumbling indicative of the growth the sector is going through in the country.
The total number of passengers increased for the sixth year in succession. 2015 saw Scotland welcome 460,546 cruise passengers, an increase of 14.8% on the previous year.
Cruise ship numbers were also on the up, as 501 cruise vessels visited Scotland. This is an increase of almost 10% compared to 2014.
The benefit of these swelling numbers is being felt in a number of areas, not least the estimated £54.6 million generated for the Scottish economy from passenger spending alone.
A number of Scottish ports recorded their best ever cruise season in 2015. Greenock Ocean Terminal became the first port in the country to welcome more than 100,000 passengers in a single season, while Kirkwall on Orkney reached a record number of 81,000 cruise passengers.
The trend of welcoming larger vessels is set to see a number of records broken once again, with around 600 vessels carrying over half a million passengers expected to visit Scotland in 2016.
Viking Ocean Cruises will visit Scotland for the first time in 2016, with Viking Sea and Viking Star due to call at Kirkwall, Lerwick and Rosyth. Disney Cruise Line will also be carrying out a round-Britain cruse for the first time in its history, and scheduled Scottish port calls for its Disney Magic ship include Greenock, Kirkwall and Invergordon.
“Continuing to build on the increased traffic seen in recent years, Cruise Scotland remains firmly committed increasing awareness of the country’s many attractions, improving visitor experience and growing our market share,” says Victor Sandison, chair of Cruise Scotland. “Dialogue continues with cruise operators to seek participation in fam trips to increase their appreciation of what Scotland offers cruise visitors and this is something which we are very keen to expand on with operators, both large and small, in the years ahead.”