By
Sean Dudley |
More than 100 cruise ships are scheduled to visit Orkney in 2016.
So far, 105 cruise ship port call are set to take place in 2016, making Orkney the first UK destination port to record such numbers in a single season.
The expected number is by far the highest the port has seen since cruise ships first visited the islands off the northern coast of Scotland, UK, in the 1970s.
Further landmarks, such as Orkney’s 1,500th port call and 750,000th cruise passenger, are also set to be reached in 2016.
“The overall economic benefit to Orkney is substantial both in terms of direct tourism spend during the cruise visit, and cruise visitors returning as individuals to experience more of what Orkney has to offer over a longer period of time,” said Gavin Barr, executive director of development and infrastructure at OIC. “Orkney’s increasing profile as a must-see Scottish and European tourist destination is attracting visitors from many parts of the world. This presents us with the enviable challenge of ensuring that the quality of the visitor experience is maintained across the County. The Council and local and national partners are undertaking project initiatives to ensure that this is achieved and that mechanisms for sustainable tourism development are implemented.”
A full list of the scheduled ships to visit Orkney in 2016 can be found here.