Dropping anchor for tourism boost
A RECORD number of cruise ships and passengers are to sail into Holyhead this summer – with German speaking guides and a new docking point helping drive the growth.
Last year 21 ships carried 13,944 passengers into dock on Anglesey - giving a £2.4m boost to the local economy.
But that figure will be blown out the water in 2016.
There are already 30 ships booked to come to the port including the giant Caribbean Princess with more than 3,000 passengers.
That visit has been made possible by a new anchorage arrangement for giant vessels after a lucrative trip last year was scuppered over fears about the size of a cruise ship for the existing docking point, the former Anglesey Aluminium berth in the port.
Under new plans for giant cruisers(over 300metres) the boats will drop anchor in Holyhead bay and passengers brought by tender to Holyhead marina.
Other cruise vessels will continue to use the berth, now owned by Orthios, who have come to an agreement with the Welsh Government over the continued use of the facility.
The Welsh Government continues to explore the feasibility of a dedicated cruise ship berth.
Steffan Hughes, from the Anglesey council tourism team, said: “There are 30 ships booked to come to Holyhead over 2016 which is a record for the port.
“They will bring 18,800 passengers to the island, which will provide an economic boost to Holyhead, Anglesey and North Wales.
“The largest ship will be the Caribbean Princess with more than 3,000 passengers.
“There will also be visits from the Mein Schiff 1 and 5 which both also carry over 2,000 passengers.
“The number of visits reflects the feedback passengers are giving so it shows that people are enjoying visiting Anglesey and that is why cruise companies want to keep coming back.”
He added: “Research has shown that cruise ship passengers are high spenders so this is good news for the economy.
“We now want to work with the Welsh Government to keep growing the number of cruise ships and passengers coming to Holyhead.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson, said: “In addition to working to increase the number of visits the Cruise Wales partnership is working to improve the experience of visitors when they arrive.
“For example we are continuing to work with local attractions to develop new excursion offerings and have delivered a German Ambassador course to provide German speaking guide provision.
“The German Language provision is already delivering results with an increase in the number of German calls in to Wales, delivering an addi- tional £1 million worth of cruise business, as cruise companies appreciate the efforts made to enrich their passengers’ experiences of Wales.
“We are also providing funding for the Isle of Anglesey County Council in order to deliver a series of welcome activities that give passengers a high quality visitor experience, sense of place and flavour of our culture, language and heritage on their arrival in Wales.
“Discussions on the feasibility of developing a new cruise berth are ongoing and a new anchor point has been successfully identified to enable vessels over 300 metres to call.
“The first ship calling in 2016 at the new anchorage is the Caribbean Princess with over 3,000 passengers on board on May 2.”
A spokeswoman for Orthios said: “Orthios Eco Parks are committed to developing the already successful cruise liner berth at Holyhead.
“Working with Cruise Wales the group has bookings for 30 cruise liners in the 2016 season with bookings for 2017 already being taken.”
Anglesey Council Leader and Tourism portfolio holder, Cllr Ieuan Williams, said: “It’s great to see our annual cruise programme going from strength to strength.
“With more ships and more passengers than ever before this year, Anglesey is maintaining its position as Wales’ premier cruise port destination.
“The Island boasts a fantastic tourism package with so much to offer.”