Orkney's Cruise Bookings Set to Buck Economic Trends
With 34 forward berthage and anchorage bookings already confirmed for 2010 in Orkney, the cruise industry is set to buck the trend in this economic downturn.
With 34 forward berthage and anchorage bookings already confirmed for 2010 in Orkney, the cruise industry is set to buck the trend in this economic downturn.
A cross section of Cruise ship sizes from smaller vessels up to vessels carrying over 3000 passengers are confirmed to arrive in Orkney next year, including a first port call to Lyness.
These future bookings denote a very healthy forecast for the cruise Industry and give a clear indication that Orkney is managing to continue to attract its regular cruise lines plus some first time callers. This is testimony to the dedication of shore excursion companies who continue to strive to develop interesting and varied tour itineraries and to the warm welcome that Orkney extends to its cruise ship passengers. It is interesting that more and more cruise ships are choosing the Hatston Terminal as its preferred berth as opposed to anchoring in Kirkwall bay. The increased levels of Customer Service including passenger waiting areas, tourist information brochures and volunteers providing information for passengers on Hatston have proved to be very popular with cruise lines this year.
A recent survey carried out by GP Wilde on the economic impact of cruise ships to the County of Orkney, showed high uptakes on tours around the Orkney Mainland, and the total financial benefit to the County in 2008 was just over £2.8 million pounds. Customer satisfaction rated highly as did the warmth of welcome extended by Orcadians to the Cruise Industry.
