Cruise Belfast Successfully Navigates the Safe Return of Cruise Tourism
Northern Ireland tourism recovery buoyed by a better-than-expected restart to cruise tourism, with 72 cruise ship arrivals to Belfast this year.
The arrival of Fred Olsen’s Borealis into Belfast this morning – the 72nd cruise call in 2021 – marks the end of a successful cruise season this year.
Since the first cruise ship returned to Belfast 5 months ago, the city has welcomed the arrival of more than 55,000 passengers to Belfast, with 15 cruise lines and a number of world-class ships making inaugural calls to Belfast this year.
The safe resumption of cruise tourism began on 17th June with the arrival of MSC’s new flagship MSC Virtuosa. This followed months of close partnership working by Cruise Belfast, industry operators, Public Health Agency and relevant agencies, to implement a robust Covid-19 Port Management Plan.
Michael Robinson, Belfast Harbour’s Port Director said:
“After such a challenging time for the tourism industry we have been delighted to welcome 72 vessels to Belfast this season, with cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, MSC and Saga visiting our shores.”
“In recent weeks we were also pleased to mark a significant milestone for cruise tourism in Northern Ireland, as we celebrated the 1,000th cruise call to Belfast, with the arrival of MS Queen Elizabeth.”
“Reaching the landmark of our 1000th vessel to visit the city, and attracting new ships including the stunning Borealis and Bolette, reflects both the success of the relationships we have made with international cruise operators and the development of Belfast and Northern Ireland as an exciting cruise tourism destination.”
Borealis Captain, Rommel Pineda, of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:
“It has been great to visit Belfast on a number of occasions this year, and a real privilege to be able to share our new ship, Borealis, with our guests here.”
“We have offered four sailings calling to the city since we resumed sailing earlier this summer as we celebrated some of the wonderful destinations in our British Isles.”
“Next year we are really excited to be offering departures from Belfast, and we are already looking forward to a successful season of sailing from the port again in 2022.”
Mary Jo McCanny, Director of Visitor Services, Visit Belfast, reflected on the success of the season:
“We knew that this year would be very different to previous cruise seasons. However, the many millions of pounds of investment in our tourism infrastructure and visitor experiences in recent years has put Belfast and Northern Ireland in a strong position to welcome cruise visitors back.
“I’m extremely pleased to see that we have been able to welcome more than 55,000 visitors ashore, and do what we do best – delivering the first-class welcome and experience the city and region is renowned for.
“Collaboration and the commitment of the tourism industry and funding support from the DfE Tourism Recovery Programme, have been instrumental in enabling Cruise Belfast to place the necessary safety protocols needed to provide reassurance and confidence for visitors arriving into Belfast”.
