Cruises will be discouraged from visiting Killybegs from 2021 due to planned limitations at Dublin Port, a leading Irish tour operator has warned.
The Dublin Port Company announced earlier this year that is planning to cut the number of cruise ships from 172 in 2018 to 80 in 2021.
This cutback is set to have a serious effect on cruise tourism at all Irish ports, warns Excursions Ireland, who have called on the Government and Irish tourism bodies to act immediately to address the threat.
Niamh McCarthy, MD of Excursions Ireland, said the planned decrease in cruises visiting Dublin is leading to a decline in bookings for 2021.
Excursions Ireland ran nine cruise calls to Killybegs this year. The company works with local businesses and tourist attractions in the surrounding areas to send guests on shore excursions.
Ms McCarthy said that the Dublin Port’s decision will create a negative overall impression of welcoming cruises to Ireland.
“Removing Dublin from cruise itineraries may ultimately sway cruise lines away from Ireland completely – if they cannot include the capital city, chances are they will go to a country/region where they are welcomed with open arms across cities. We have already seen cases of this from 2021 onwards!
“CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) estimates that the average spend per cruise guest when they are travelling a country before or after their cruise is approximately €250.00/day.
“Guests travelling around Ireland spend time in places such as Donegal and this type of client will return to see more of Ireland after visiting. As there are no turnarounds in Dublin allowed from 2021, this business is lost.”
Excursions Ireland have called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to tell the Dublin Port board that “Tourism is of vital importance to Ireland and that Cruise ships and their passengers are of more value to the Irish economy than a ship full of imported goods.”