By
Rebecca Gibson |
Liverpool is to host 10 cruise ships and almost 20,000 passengers and crew in the first 11 days of its 2017 cruise season.
In 2017, the UK city is set to welcome a record 63 cruise ships and more than 111,000 international visitors and crew. The season will open on 5 June with a maiden call from Silversea Cruises’ Silver Whisper.
The following day, Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ 1,500-guest Magellan will become the largest vessel to operate a turnaround cruise in the city. Local artists will perform in a short quayside concert to celebrate the visit before the ship leaves to a colourful confetti show at 9pm. Members of public will be able to watch the concert from Princes Parade. A similar quayside concert will be held again on 14 June when Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse makes her inaugural visit.
In the first two weeks of the season alone, the cruise industry is excepted to generate £1.5 million for Liverpool’s tourism economy.
2017 also marks 10 years since Liverpool Cruise Terminal opened. Over the past decade, the port has welcomed 355 vessels and more than 700,000 international passengers and crew. It has also contributed £50 million to the local economy.
“What better way to launch our 10th year than with a record-breaking start to a record-breaking season,” said Peter Murney, Liverpool’s cruise and operations manager. “The near non-stop schedule of arrivals will certainly invoke memories of the Mersey’s maritime heyday and with these special concerts we aim to give everyone a reason to celebrate the arrivals of these very special visitors to our river.”
Liverpool City Council is now looking to expand the city’s cruise sector and recently appointed a technical team to develop a new permanent Cruise Passenger Facility on the River Mersey. The team will initially work on developing a detailed design on the proposed £50 million facility before submitting a planning application for the former Princes Jetty, off Princes Parade, later this year.
Further applications could potentially include supplemental projects with a new 200-room hotel and 1,100 space multi-storey car park to enhance the city’s capabilities in handling the next generation of turnaround cruises.