By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Scottish ports expect to receive an estimated 407,425 passengers during the 2013 cruise season, marking an increase on the 350,745 visitors in 2012 and a 51.7 per cent increase since 2010 when there were 369 calls and 268,481 passengers.
“The global industry’s ongoing expansion and intensified and sustained marketing by Cruise Scotland, our members individually and others, along with Scotland’s many attractions, are helping to bring more visitors to Scotland in a very competitive sector,” said Cruise Scotland chairman Richard Alexander.
The 14 member ports of the Cruise Scotland group are scheduled to welcome 463 cruise ships throughout the year, including several larger cruise vessels which will make inaugural visits to the member ports during the 2013 cruise season.
Iberocruceros’ Grand Mistral will call at Edinburgh and Invergordon for the first time, while Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Legend will call at Invergordon and Greenock. Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Infinity will also make its maiden visit to Greenock and Invergordon, while MSC Cruises’ MSC Magnifica will call at the ports of Edinburgh, Greenock, Invergordon, Kirkwall and Lerwick.
Although the Scottish ports are set to experience a significant increase in passengers this year, the future growth of the region’s cruise industry is difficult to predict, due to the more rigorous checking procedures introduced in 2012. Processes such as face-to-face checks for passengers by border officials result in delays to tight schedules on smaller vessels, and additional costs and inconvenience for operators of larger ships.
“The continuing growth for UK cruise ports is under potential threat from stricter interpretation of checks by the UK Border Force since last summer on passengers – including EU residents – arriving from foreign ports,” said Alexander. “This could be a crunch year for industry reaction, with concern already being expressed by cruise lines that this could act as a deterrent to ships calling at UK ports in the future.”
He added: “With the situation overshadowing success to date and optimism for the future at a time when our members are reporting encouraging bookings for 2014, we and others are continuing to lobby to have the situation resolved through a risk-based approach to checks.”
Cruise Scotland will exhibit at Cruise Shipping Miami from 11-14 March 2013.