Cruise liners boost for Skye tourism industry

ten ships set to call at portree with £250,000 injection into island economy

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SKYE’S tourism industry will receive a boost of more than £250,000 this summer, with the expected arrival of 10 cruise ships and record passenger numbers.

The first of this season’s cruise ships dropped anchor in Portree harbour last Sunday.

The 22,000-tonne Marco Polo, with 794 passengers aboard, arrived from Kirkwall on a 10-day, round-Britain cruise.

The ship, operated by Transocean Cruises, will return to Portree on July 13.

To mark Marco Polo’s first visit to Portree, Highland Council presented the ship’s master, Captain Alexander Golubev, with an engraved plaque to commemorate the occasion. Skye councillors Ian Renwick and Drew Millar accompanied council tourism development officer Gordon Ireland on board for the informal ceremony.

Mr Renwick said: “It’s great news that more cruise ships are calling at Portree.

“For most of these passengers this will be the first time they have visited Skye and, although they are only here for a day, we hope they will be tempted to return in the future for a longer visit.” Mr Ireland said: “We have achieved consistent growth over the past few years and the size of vessels calling at Portree is also increasing. ”

The passengers from Marco Polo were offered half-day excursions to Dunvegan and Eilean Donan Castle. Many simply opted to spend a few hours ashore enjoying the sunshine in Portree.

Over the course of the summer Portree will host 10 cruise ships.

Total passenger numbers will be in excess of 5,400, some 1,200 more than last year’s record.

With average passenger spend at around £40 to £50, the cruise ship calls are expected to generate in excess of £250,000 for the local economy.