By
Alex Smith |
Unscheduled cruise calls by five cruise ships to Portland Port in the UK during 2024 have boosted the local economy by £750,000 ($966,000), the port has revealed.
The vessels chose to stop at Portland at late notice after being unable to stop at their planned destinations elsewhere. They include Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience, Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, Saga’s Spirit of Adventure and Plantours Kreuzfahrten’s Hamburg. The visit for Queen Mary 2 was the first transit call for a Cunard ship, while Hamburg’s call was the first time that a Plantours Kreuzfahrten’s vessel had visited Portland.
More than 8,500 passengers have arrived in the additional calls between May and July, which the port estimates were worth £750,000 to the local economy based on figures from Cruise Lines Industry Association for spend per passenger.
“It is always a pleasure to welcome cruise ships on unscheduled visits,” said Ian McQuade, general manager commercial at Portland Port and chair of national association Cruise Britain. “Our location, new deepwater berths which allow the largest cruise ships to moor alongside and our reputation for pulling out the stops to accommodate visiting vessels make the port an attractive proposition for cruise lines on both scheduled and unscheduled visits. Our thanks go to our dedicated and responsive team, including our contracted shuttle bus operators and welcome team, who have been able to help us accommodate the unscheduled ships and their passengers at very short notice.”
Portland Port’s cruise calls bring in an estimated £10 million ($12.9 million) per year to the local economy. This figure includes expenditure in shops, bars, cafes and tourism attractions, along with transport and tours. The port expects to have welcomed 50 ships carrying 110,000 passengers by the end of 2024.