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Cruise ship calls to Scottish ports rise for seventh successive year

Scottish ports are expecting a further rise in cruise ship calls in 2017, following a seventh successive record year.

Industry marketing body Cruise Scotland revealed that ship calls climbed by 35% to 676 in 2016, while passenger numbers rose by 5.3% to about 484,000.

A total of 808 ships have been booked to call in 2017, an increase of 19.5% on this year.

Cruise Scotland also expects the number of passengers to climb by more than 35% to 656,000.

The organisation said next year’s visits were expected to be worth more than £72.5 million to the Scottish economy.

Cruise Scotland chairman Andrew Hemphill said: “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.

“The success in persuading operators to include Scotland in their itineraries in a highly-competitive global market is very much a team effort by our members and support services.

“There is tremendous potential for more in a growth industry, through sustained promotion and quality product.”

Cruise Scotland’s marketing plans includes a return to the Seatrade Cruise Global exhibition and conference in Florida in March, 2017.

The organisation’s port members include Glasgow (Greenock), Oban, Portree, Stornoway, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Aberdeen, Montrose, Dundee and Edinburgh.

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