Tourism chiefs have hailed 145 cruise liner calls to Belfast this year.
Cruise Belfast, a partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast, reported that 60 ships from 35 cruise lines had docked in the port, bringing 260,000 passengers and crew to Northern Ireland between April and October.
The visiting ships included six making their inaugural calls to Belfast, including Cunard’s new vessel Queen Anne, which arrived in the Northern Ireland capital in June as part of its British Isles Festival Voyage.
The largest vessel to call at Belfast in this year’s cruise season was the 333-metre MSC Preziosa, which arrived in September, and the final call was the Oceania cruise ship Sirena on Monday.
Belfast facilitated six cruise turnarounds during the year with Ambassador. These voyages provided local people with the opportunity to take a cruise from Belfast to destinations including the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, the Mediterranean and the Scottish islands.
This year’s season also included one full turnaround of international passengers, mostly US visitors who flew into Belfast to join a cruise around the UK and Ireland.
Michael Robinson, port director of Belfast Harbour, said cruise tourism is now well established in Belfast.
“This year we continued to receive very positive feedback from passengers, crew and cruise line management about the quality of the region’s tourism offering and the service that the industry provides,” he said.
“The cruise sector also continues to develop and expand, with a growing number of cruise turnarounds. We look forward to another busy year in 2025 when we will welcome our 1,500th call – something we could never have imagined when the first cruise ship visited Belfast back in 1996.”
Gerry Lennon, chief executive of Visit Belfast, said: “Cruise tourism is vital not only for Belfast but for the entire region.
“It brings significant numbers of visitors who contribute to local businesses and create jobs.
“The impact of these visitors resonates throughout our community, supporting a diverse range of sectors and enhancing the overall economic vitality of Northern Ireland.”