Scotland has attracted another record-breaking cruise season for 2017, with the growing popularity as a destination more than doubling the number of cruise calls and passengers in less than a decade and making major contributions to the national economy, said Cruise Scotland, which promotes the kingdom to the cruise industry.
“The promise of another busy summer follows a seventh successive best-yet season in 2016 when there were 676 visits by cruise ships, up 35% on 2015 and bringing around 484,000 passengers, an increase of 5.3%,” the organisation said in a statement
Ports and their hinterlands around mainland Scotland and the islands shared a market with an estimated value of almost £56 million in 2016.
There are currently 808 ships, including more large vessels, booked to call in 2017, up 19.5% on 2016, with an anticipated 35%-plus jump in the number of passengers to around 656,000. A number of cruise lines are returning with more calls next year when the annual value to the Scottish economy is expected to reach more than £72.5 million.
Cruise Scotland Chairman, Andrew Hemphill, commented: “The expectations for next year will mean that since 2010, the organisation’s first full year, ship numbers, passengers and their spend will all have more than doubled.