Plea to help smaller businesses tap into expanding cruise liner trade windfall

EFFORTS to spread the benefits of the booming multimillion-pound Easter Ross cruise liner trade more widely could counteract the honeypot effect of Loch Ness.

The estimated £17 million spin-off from the 93 liners berthing at Invergordon this year could be topped in 2019 with an even longer season planned, it has emerged.

With scores of new ships under construction and a £23m project to enable Invergordon to accommodate mega-liners carrying up to 6000 passengers, hopes are high Easter Ross can secure a larger share of the pie.

Speaking after the second visit of the Disney Magic, Port of Cromarty Firth cruise manager Allison McGuire revealed plans to help attractions in the north lure a larger share from passengers spending an average £100 each per visit.

While many bus tours head straight for the monster attraction that is Loch Ness, passengers revisiting the area are often looking for alternatives, she said.

The port held workshops last year in a bid to help businesses tap the potential. Ms McGuire acknowledged improving Invergordon’s infrastructure to handle the arrival of anything up to 5000 people in a single day remains a challenge. But she added: “There are opportunities to get visitors through the door. Attitudes are changing and people see this is a growing industry. We want to see people coming on these day trips return for two-week vacations.”

She said: “Disney Magic was carrying 2470 passengers and was our 75th liner this season. We will see a total of 93 ships up until the end of the season on September 27. At our peak, we’re welcoming six ships a week.

“Next year the season will start earlier and finish later – beginning in the middle of March and stretching in to October. We’re seeing more ships and the season is becoming longer. There are 110 new cruise ships being built around the world. They all need somewhere to go and we aim to make Invergordon as attractive as possible.”

David Richardson, Highlands and Islands development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The growing cruise ship market naturally attracts a lot of attention, but as with tourism in general, it is not passenger numbers but passenger spend within the Highlands that really matters.

“While the average cruise ship passenger spend estimate of £100 per day – passenger, crew and ship spend – sounds very positive, many smaller businesses have told me that they don’t benefit directly from cruise ship business. The more that the Port Authority and cruise ship agents work with appropriate local businesses to help them understand and adapt to meet the needs of this lucrative market, and then promote them actively to passengers before they reach port, the better for all concerned.

“Done properly, everyone should win. Passengers should benefit from greater choices and better experiences, cruise ships should benefit from happier passengers more likely to book with them again in future, a greater number of businesses will obviously benefit from passenger spend, and the local economy should benefit from increased overall spend.”

Cromarty Firth ward councillor Maxine Smith, herself a local businesswoman, said: “Both the port and the council are working together to find solutions for the independent coach parking, as well as finding a suitable location for a taxi rank. We must try with the cruise visits set to increase, to disadvantage the people who live and work around the High Street, as little as possible. The cruise industry is doing fantastically well and the local shops would like to get a bite of the cherry.”

She has met with shopkeepers to discover ways to share the business around, “not only from cruise passengers, but also from the North Coast 500 travellers”. She said: “Invergordon is uniquely placed to grow its town centre into something much more adventurous and I am going to do my best to make sure this happens, but it will take time. Meantime the new cruise manager is a breath of fresh air and is doing her best to liaise with all other stakeholders in the port.”