By
Rebecca Gibson |
British cruise ports handled a record 866,000 day passengers in 2013, marking a 20% rise from 2012, according to figures released by CruiseBritain.
Figures also indicated that the number passengers beginning their cruise at a UK port passed the one million mark for the first time, while more than 100 ships from 49 different operators called at the country’s 51 cruise ports.
“With a day call growth rate of this magnitude, we are on course to see over one million passenger day calls into UK ports this year, which represents significant tourism revenue for each of the ports visited,” said Daren Taylor, incoming chair of CruiseBritain. “The rise in both the day call and embarkation figures is extremely encouraging and is a positive endorsement of Britain’s value as a cruise destination and source market. The growth in passengers beginning their cruise includes overseas passengers who represented 21% of the total, a proportion which returns to 2010 levels.”
Many of the visiting ships sailed ‘Round Britain’ cruises, which capitalise on the short sailing distances between the UK’s ports to offer passengers the opportunity to explore a range of coastal areas, cities and countryside in one visit.
“CruiseBritain continues to raise the profile of Britain as a cruise destination and has just introduced a new theme based around heritage coasts,” said Taylor. “This theme highlights the protected coast accessible from so many of our member ports and complements the country’s historical and cultural attractions.”