Record Breaking Cruise Liner Season Ahead for Orkney
Orkney is set for a multimillion pound tourism bonanza with a record-breaking year of cruise liners due to visit. The number of cruise ships visiting Orkney will top the 80 mark for the first time this year, says a Orkney Islands Council press release.
So far, 83 port calls by liners are expected in the islands – four more than in 2014. In total, the ships have the capacity to carry more than 80,000 passengers and 25,000 crew. More bookings are still expected for 2015.
Michael Morrison, business development manager for Council's marine services, said that they all set for a record-breaking year for cruise ship visits. Orkney is seeing more visits by bigger vessels, resulting in greater overall passenger numbers for Orkney.
The increase in the size of ships visiting demonstrates the confidence that the industry has in our ability to deliver a first class experience for visiting passengers, he said.
He claimed that Orkney remains, despite stiff competition from other developing cruise ports, the most popular cruise ship destination in the United Kingdom.
