17 June 2019
Cruise Britain, the joint initiative between Britain’s ports and service providers is hosting its summer event on the island of Guernsey, one of its member destinations.
As part of Cruise Britain’s remit to ensure that Britain remains visible as an attractive and viable cruise destination it is encouraging to see that for the eleventh consecutive year cruise passenger visits to Britain’s ports continue to rise with the figure now standing at 1.642 million
This mirrors Cruise Britain’s own growth over ten years which has seen membership, which is comprised of ports and service providers who work with cruise lines, grow over 50% in that time period.
On June 26th and 27th those members will convene in Guernsey to discuss how to further develop cruise business through British cruise ports, from Kirkwall on the island of Orkney to Guernsey in the Channel Islands. On the agenda will be key issues such as tourism management, shore excursion development, enhanced welcome development programmes, cruise border control clearance and progressing industry engagement.
Members will meet politicians from the States of Guernsey’s Committee for Economic Development in recognition of how important cruise business is to Guernsey. Members will witness first-hand Guernsey’s award-winning cruise offering, and will experience the fabulous welcome given to cruise passengers when arriving by tender in the centre of St Peter Port, Guernsey’s capital and jewel in the crown. Also, in conjunction with Guernsey Harbours, there will be the opportunity for members to tour the port and have access to its wider cruise infrastructure.
Round Britain and Irish Sea cruises continue to develop as a perfect way of exploring Britain’s rich and diverse coastline, its coastal cities, towns and countryside, and the ever-evolving range of activities and attractions on offer ashore. The short sailing distances between Britain’s shore and neighbouring countries add to the cruise itinerary possibilities helping to continually enhance the passenger experience and cruise offering.
“All our members work tirelessly to develop and support the British cruise industry, and to provide cruise lines and their guests with a seamless product and world-class service. We are delighted to be holding this event in Guernsey which has developed and grown its cruise offering significantly in the last five years and is now a major part of the British cruise product offering,’’ commented James Stangroom, Chair of Cruise Britain.
‘’Guernsey was a founder member of Cruise Britain and this is the first time that we have been able to visit, and to showcase a tender port to a wide range of members’’, added Stangroom.
Charles Parkinson, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said ”The Cruise industry is an important part of Guernsey’s developing tourism strategy and it makes an important contribution to the overall economy of the island. We are committed to continuing to develop and improve our cruise infrastructure, the cruise passenger welcome and experience as well as supporting the wider British cruise industry.
“As a long-term member of Cruise Britain, Guernsey has seen the tangible benefit membership brings to the island, as well as the important position Cruise Britain holds in the industry,” Mike Hopkins Director of Marketing and Tourism commented.
He continued “We have 99 calls scheduled for this 2019, eight of which are inaugural calls, and we will continue to work closely with existing and new cruise partners to continually improve our offering. We feel privileged and also excited to host this prestigious event in Guernsey and to showcase our cruise product to the Cruise Britain membership.”