Rep

ort

Des

ign:

Fran

Wal

shD

esig

n

CRUISETOURISM

WEST CORKin

Report on

CRUISETOURISM

WEST CORK

CONTENTS1 Executive Summary 1

2 Global Cruise Industry 2

3 Major Cruise Lines 4

4 Cruise Line Considerations in Designing Cruise Itineraries 5

5 European Cruising 6

6 Ireland as a Cruise Destination 7

6.1 Fáilte Ireland/Red C Research 8

7 Cruise Marketing Partnershiips 10

7.1 Cruise Europe 10

7.2 Cruise Atlantic Europe 10

7.3 Celtic Wave 11

7.4 Cruse Ireland 11

8 Port of Cork 11

8.1 CorkCruise 12

8.2 Lessons from the Cork Experience 12

9 Bantry Bay (Bantry/Glengarriff/Castletownbere) as a Cruise Destination 13

9.1 Bantry Bay/Glengarriff 14

9.2 Castletownbere Fishery Harbour 15

9.3 Furious Pier 15

10 Cruise Ship Calls to Bantry Bay 2001 – 2011 17-19

11 2012 Cruise Ship Schedule 20

12 SWOT Analysis 20

13 Glengarriff Passenger Survey 24

14 Conclusion and Recommendations 27

14.1 New Cruise Initiative 27

14.2 Port Facilities 29

14.3 Shore Excursions 29

14.4 Funding 30

14.5 Test Marketing 30

15 Consultations 30

CRUISETOURISM

WEST CORKin

Report on

1. Executive Summary

Cork County Council, Western Division,appointed Seán Geary, former Deputy ChiefExecutive, Marketing Manager and CruiseConsultant of the Port of Cork, to prepare areport on cruise tourism in West Cork, withparticular reference to Bantry Bay. Thereport examines the historic pattern ofcruise ship visits to Bantry Bay/Glengarriff inthe context of the scale and value of cruisetourism globally and on a European level.Its principal goals are to advise on thesustainability of such visits to West Corkand, if so, to devise a marketing strategywhich will enable the West Cork region toexpand its existing cruise business. Thisstudy follows on the setting up of a CruiseSteering Group by Cork County Council inOctober 2010 and will inform the MarineLeisure Strategy which has been preparedby the Council’s Western Division.

Cruising is a major growth industryworldwide, with the number of globalcruise passengers almost doubling in theperiod 2000 – 2010 from 9.73 millionpassengers to 18.8 million passengers, with7.4% growth achieved in 2010. In Europein 2010 there were 198 cruise shipsoperating across the continent with morethan 5.2 million passengers embarking oncruises from a European port, representing a7.4% increase over 2009 and an 83%increase in the period 2005 – 2010. InIreland 202 cruise ships brought 204,000cruise visitors to our shores in 2010compared with 77 cruise calls and 64,000

passengers in 2000, an increase of over160% in cruise ship numbers and over200% in passenger numbers. The cruiseindustry is the fastest growing travel sectorin the world and, with cruise linescontinuing to invest in new and increasedcruise capacity, the industry is set to expandstill further in the years ahead.

The cruise industry confers significanteconomic advantage on the areas/regionswith which it interacts. In 2010 the directspend by passengers and crewdisembarking at Irish ports, including portcharges, was estimated at €20.3 million. Itwas calculated that passengers and crewspent €14.7 million while disembarked, portcharges (excluding provisions) contributed€3.2 million and advance payments, whichare repatriated to Ireland, added €2.4million to direct spend.

Given a choice, cruise ships prefer to tie upalongside a pier rather than go to anchor,as they are obliged to do in Bantry Bay.However, notwithstanding thisdisadvantage and without the benefit ofany form of cruise marketing, cruise shipshave been calling to Bantry Bay (almostexclusively Glengarriff) since the mid to latenineties. During the period 2001–2011 48cruise ships brought 19,000 passengers tothis beautiful part of West Cork. Withaverage cruise passenger spend for eachEuropean port visit estimated at €61 and foreach Irish port visit at €71 per passenger(two separate surveys), it is logical to assessdirect spend in the hinterland of Glengarriff

1

1

since the beginning of the last decade to becomfortably in excess of €1 million orapproximately €100,000 per annum. Alogical conclusion is that this level ofincome merits protection and that a plan beput in place to ensure that the area realisesits full potential from a continuouslyexpanding cruise industry.

Cruise ship calls enhance considerably thePR value of a region and thus can boostsignificantly its marketability, both on anational and international scale. In addition,various studies have confirmed that cruisepassengers are highly likely to return on aland based holiday to an area they firstvisited by cruise ship.

To ensure that West Cork benefits from theinevitable growth in cruise ship calls toIreland and that Bantry Bay’s potential as acruise destination is fully exploited, it isessential that existing port facilities beassessed and be refurbished and upgradedwhere necessary to ensure they meet thehighest safety and operational standards ofa modern, demanding industry. This reportrecommends the setting up of a locallybased cruise initiative which will beresponsible for marketing to the cruiseindustry; ensuring that theareas/attractions/amenities visited by cruisepassengers are fit for purpose and forproviding a fitting welcome for cruise ships,their passengers and crew. The report alsorecommends the appointment of a cruisedirector and outlines an indicativemarketing strategy to achieve definedtargets over a specific time frame.

Before putting the cruise initiative in place,it is recommended that a test marketingcampaign be undertaken.

2. Global Cruise Industry

The cruise industry is the fastest growingtravel sector in the world, having enjoyedphenomenal growth, particularly over thepast twenty years. In 1990 3.8 millionpassengers took cruises worldwide and by1997 this had grown to 5.4 million. Duringthe ten year period 2000 – 2010 demandfor cruising almost doubled (+93%) from9.73 million passengers to 18.8 million

passengers with 7.4% growth achieved in2010. Over the same period, global, mainlyland-based tourism has grown by less than40%. In North America, the world’s largestsource market, while cruise passengernumbers increased by 66% to 11.11 millionover the last decade, the region’s relativeshare of the market declined from 71% in2000 to 59% in 2010. However, thisdecline was offset by increased demand inother parts of the world, particularly inEurope where cruising is growing steadily inpopularity.

Cruise Lines International Association(CLIA), the world’s largest cruise associationrepresentative of 26 of the major cruiselines serving North America, producesregular statistical data on its membership.CLIA revealed that during 2009 (the mostrecent year for which it has comprehensivestatistics) 167 of its members’ cruise shipstook an estimated 13.44 million passengerson cruises around various parts of theworld. This represented a 4.8% increase onthe previous year. When final figures aretotaled, CLIA expects to report thatmember lines carried 15 million people in2010, including 11.1 million NorthAmericans. The forecast for 2011 is 16million passengers, an increase of 6.6percent, with 73 percent of guests or 11.68million, coming from North America, and27 percent or 4.32 million, sourcedinternationally.

2

2

The combined Caribbean and Bahamiancruising area is the principal cruising area inthe world and in 2010 accounted for 41%of total cruise capacity. Next in order ofimportance was the Mediterranean whichaccounted for 18% of capacity, followed byNorthern Europe with 9%. Significantly theEuropean market, including theMediterranean, is basically seasonalwhereas cruising in the Caribbean and theBahamas is year round.

A primary factor influencing the cruiseindustry’s global growth is continuousinvestment in expanding passengercapacity. Nearly 40 new ships were built inthe 1980’s and during the 1990’s just undereighty new ships were added to theworldwide fleet. Notwithstanding theworldwide economic downturn in recentyears, there are currently twenty new cruiseships on order for delivery during the fouryear period 2012-2016 at a cost of $13.5billion. Since the early nineties there hasbeen a discernible trend towards larger andmore sophisticated ships and this trendcontinues to the present day. While of thetwenty vessels on the order books in 2011,two will provide capacity of less than 516passengers and one ship will have 1260passenger capacity, four will providecapacity of between 2000 and 3000passengers and the remaining thirteen shipswill have capacity of between 3000 and4100 passengers. Eight of the ships will befor European owned cruise lines and onlyone of the twenty will be less than 225metres in overall length. As a general rule,

the smaller ships tend to be geared either tothe ultra luxurious end of the market or tospecialist expedition type cruising, whereasthe larger ships are geared to the massmarket.

The scale of the growth experienced overthe years and the pre-eminence cruising hasachieved in the leisure industry are quiteremarkable when one considers that thecruise industry is a relatively young one.Effectively it started a little over 40 yearsago when Norwegian Cruise Line’s firstvessel, Sunward, sailed out of Miami inDecember 1966 while the first purpose builtcruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Song ofFlower, undertook her maiden voyage inNovember 1970.

The cruise industry confers significanteconomic advantage on the areas/regionswith which it interacts. Among theindividual business sectors which benefitfrom the cruise industry are ports ofembarkation, ports of call, ship building andship repair yards, shipping and groundhandling agents, provisioning companies,sales and marketing companies, andcompanies specialising in the staffing ofcruise ships and the provision ofadministrative facilities to the cruise lines.In addition, the broad tourism sector is amajor beneficiary, including areas such asretail, food and beverage and major touristattractions. While figures are not availableto cover all cruise regions of the world, anindependent study commissioned by CLIAconfirmed the major economic benefits ofthe cruise industry. It found that the totalcruise industry economic impact in the U.S.in 2010 was $37.85 billion of gross output,a 7.8 percent increase over 2009. Inaddition, direct spending by cruise lines andpassengers on U.S. goods and servicesamounted to $18 billion while “CLIAmember lines were directly or indirectlyresponsible for putting nearly 330,000Americans to work”.

Various studies have confirmed that cruisepassengers are highly likely to return on aland based holiday to an area they firstvisited by cruise ship. CLIA market researchreveals that cruising is an important vehiclefor sampling destinations to which

3

passengers may return. 80% of cruisepassengers agree that cruising is a goodway to sample destinations that they maywish to visit again on a land based holiday.Nearly 40% of cruise passengers stated thatthey returned to holiday at a destinationfirst visited by cruise. Invariably those whochoose to cruise do not do so exclusivelybut choose to cruise as part of their holidaymix. The International Cruise MarketMonitor, a division of British basedconsultants, G. P. Wild (International) Ltd.,is in broad agreement when it estimatesthat up to 50% of all passengers expect toreturn to the area they have visited on acruise. In Ireland, a Red C Research survey,commissioned by Fáilte Ireland, found thatfour out of every five cruise passengers saidthey would be likely to return to Ireland fora holiday in future. During the course of asurvey carried out with cruise passengers inGlengarriff in July 2011 for this report, 70%of respondents, when asked, claimed theywould be interested in returning to the areaon a shore based holiday.

3. Major Cruise Lines

The industry is dominated by three majorplayers, Carnival Cruise Corporation, RoyalCaribbean Cruises Ltd. and Genting HongKong.

The Carnival Corporation is comfortably thelargest cruise company in the world. Itsportfolio includes Carnival Cruise Lines,Holland America Line, Princess Cruises andThe Yachts of Seabourn in North America;P&O Cruises and Cunard Line in the UnitedKingdom; AIDA in Germany; Costa Cruisesin Italy; Iberocruceros in Spain; and P&OCruises in Australia. From its headquartersin Miami, Carnival currently controls a fleetof 98 ships, with another 10 shipsscheduled for delivery by March 2016. Withapproximately 200,000 guests and 70,000shipboard employees, there are more than270,000 people sailing aboard the Carnivalfleet at any given time.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., also based inMiami, is the world’s second largest cruisecompany, operating the Royal CaribbeanInternational, Celebrity Cruises and

Azamara Club Cruises’ brands together withSpanish based Pullmantur and French basedCDF Croisieres de France brands, with 40ships and a passenger capacity ofapproximately 92,300. It also has a majorinvolvement in German based TUI Cruisesthrough a 50% joint venture with Germantour operator, TUI AG. Royal CaribbeanGroup currently has three new ships onorder.

Genting Hong Kong, formerly known asStar Cruises Limited, is a leading globalleisure, entertainment and hospitalitycorporation. A primary business activity ofthe company is cruise and cruise relatedoperations under the brand of Hong Kongbased Star Cruises and Miami basedNorwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Star Cruises,together with NCL, is the third largest cruiseoperator in the world and owns a combinedfleet of 18 ships visiting over 200destinations in the world, offeringapproximately 35,000 lower berths. Theyhave two new ships scheduled for deliveryby 2016.

Among other significant cruise lines in thecruise industry are the following:US based Crystal Cruises, Disney CruiseLine, Lindblad Expeditions, Oceania Cruisesand Regent Seven Seas Cruises (both partof Prestige Group Holdings), QuarkExpeditions, Residensea, Seadream YachtClub, Silversea Cruises and WindstarCruises; UK based Fred Olsen Cruise Lines,All Leisure Holidays (incorporating SwanHellenic, Hebridean Island Cruises andVoyages of Discovery), Hurtigruten, Page &Moy, Saga Shipping Co., Cruise andMaritime Voyages and Thomson Cruises; German based Hansa Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd,Phoenix Reisen, Peter Deilmann, Sea CloudCruises and Transocean. Italian based MSCCruises, French based Compagnie duPonant and Plein Cap Croisieres and Japanese based Mitsui OSK Line and NYKCruises.

4

3

4. Cruise Line Considerations in Designing Cruise Itineraries

For cruise lines planning cruises to includecalls at Irish ports, the followingconsiderations are factored into theequation:

4.1 Time of year Invariably cruises are undertaken between the months of April and October.

4.2 Starting port and finishing port on itinerary These ports are classified as turnaroundports and require adequate alongside portfacilities to handle complete disembarkationand embarkation of passengers and storingand fuelling of cruise ships. Easy road accessto the ports and proximity to aninternational airport and large urban centresare highly desirable. In the UK the mostpopular turnaround ports are Southamptonand Dover. In Ireland, Dublin has been usedintermittently as a turnaround port as hasCork on rare occasions.

4.3 Duration of Cruise This will determine the number of ports of call to be included in the itinerary,bearing in mind the steaming time betweenindividual ports based on the ship’s averagespeed. Any physical limitations within ports(e.g. tidal constraints, length, draft, orheight restrictions or if one or more portsare tender ports) will need to be factoredinto the equation. Where possible, thenumber of tender ports will be minimised inany cruise as tendering is viewed asinconvenient by both passengers and ships’officers.

4.4 The range, variety and attractiveness of shore excursionsEarnings from shore excursions form a vitalelement of cruise lines’ revenue, particularlyat a time when competition within theindustry is so intense that the “ticket price”of cruises has been dropping appreciably inrecent years. Depending on the time to bespent in port, cruise lines ideally favour achoice of half day and full day shoreexcursions. The attractions to be visitedshould preferably resonate with thepassengers, e.g. Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, St.

Peter’s Square, Lakes of Killarney, etc. andreflect the interests of the cruise operator’starget clientele. There should be localsupport for the cruise line/ground handlingagent to facilitate the planning of thecruise, to make passengers feel “special” onarrival, and to provide back-up inunexpected or emergency situations.

4.5 Port chargesThe cruise industry, in common with other industries across the broadbusiness spectrum, places a major emphasison cost cutting and therefore competitiveport charges are essential. However, portcharges among Irish ports are generallyacknowledged to be on the lower end ofcharges raised by their Europeancounterparts.

4.6 Previous experience at a particular port Positive experiences during previous calls toa port pre-dispose cruise lines to returning.Conversely the opposite is also true.

5

4

5. European Cruising

Similar to its US counterpart, the Europeancruise industry is a flourishing one whichhas enjoyed sustained growth in recentyears. During 2010 there were 198 cruiseships operating in Europe ranging incapacity from 3600 passengers to less than100. There were 45 cruise lines domiciled inEurope, operating 132 cruise ships (124 in2009) with a capacity of around 137,100lower berths. Another 66 vessels (64 in2009) with a capacity of nearly 81,000lower berths were deployed in Europe bynon-European (almost exclusively NorthAmerican) lines. (2011 has seen NorwegianCruise Line’s Norwegian Epic become thelargest cruise ship yet to be deployed inEuropean waters. With gross tonnage of156,000, she has a passenger capacity of4100 and measures 330 metres in overalllength.) Much of the European growth inrecent years can be attributed to the NorthAmerican cruise industry which iscontinuing to increase its presencethroughout Europe. Due to the seasonalnature of European cruising and thepopularity of winter cruising in theCaribbean, almost all US operated ships andsome European based ships which cruise inEurope during the extended summerseason, are deployed in the Caribbeanduring the winter. In addition to regionalcruising, Europe also benefits fromtransatlantic cruises, world cruises andpositioning cruises between theMediterranean and Northern Europe.

In June 2011 the European Cruise Council(ECC) released details of an EconomicImpact Report prepared by independenteconomic experts, G. P. Wild (International)Ltd., Business Research and EconomicAdvisors, outlining the contribution ofcruise tourism to the economies of Europein 2010. The ECC is the associationrepresenting the leading cruise operators inEurope and currently has 30 cruisemembers and 34 associate members. TheWild report revealed that 2010 proved tobe another record breaking year when morethan 5.2 million passengers embarked oncruises from a European port, a 7.4%increase over 2009. Of these,approximately 4.2 million or 81% were

European nationals with the balance ofabout 1 million coming from outsideEurope. Embarkations at European portsgrew by 83% in the five year period 2005 –2010, underlying the growing appeal ofEuropean cruising and reflecting a growinginterest in the region by non- Europeans,especially North Americans.

The vast majority of these cruises visitedports in the Mediterranean, the Baltic andother European regions, generating 25.2million passenger visits at approximately250 European port cities, a 6% increaseover 2009. The figures showed an increaseof 92% since 2005 and emphasised theappeal of longer cruise itineraries thatinclude more port calls and an increase inthe number of transatlantic cruises. Inaddition, there was an estimated 13.2million crew visits at European ports. Thetop ten European cruise destinationcountries accounted for 86% of cruisepassenger visits. The top four were in theMediterranean (Italy, Spain, Greece andFrance) and accounted for two thirds of allEuropean cruise visits. Norway was rankedfifth and was the leading destination inNorthern Europe with 1.8 million passengervisits or 7.1% of the total. The UnitedKingdom with 541,000 passenger visits or2.1% of the total was in ninth positionwhile Ireland with 177,000 passenger visitsor 0.7% market share lay in sixteenthposition. An earlier G. P. Wild analysis ofNorthern European passenger nights bydestination in 2008 showed that the Balticaccounted for 47% of the market,Iceland/Arctic region 22%, North WesternEurope 12%, the Norwegian Fjords 11%with the “British Isles” accounting for alowly 8%. Both the 2008 and the 2010reports clearly identify Britain and Ireland asbeing one of the least popular cruisingareas, not alone in Europe but in NorthernEurope, and highlight both the challengesand the opportunities in marketing Irish andBritish ports to the cruise lines.

The European source market is alsodeveloping rapidly with 5.45 millionEuropean residents having booked cruises in2010, a 9.3% increase over 2009 andrepresenting nearly 30% of all cruisepassengers worldwide. This compares with

6

5

21% in 2000 when an estimated 2 millionEuropeans took cruises. The global recessionin 2009 and the subsequent moderaterebound in growth had little negativeimpact on the market which has grown by64% from 3.3 million in 2005 and by 23%from 4.4 million in 2008. The UK continuesto lead the European source market withthe number of British cruisers growing by6% to more than 1.6million or 29.8% oftotal. Germany is in second place with1.2million or 22.4% market share andposted Europe’s highest growth rate, 19%.Closely following were Italy (889,000, 11%growth), Spain (645,000, 10% growth) andFrance, 387,000, 12% growth). By contrastthe Irish source market amounted to 58,000passengers or 1.1% of the total although,as with almost every aspect of the cruiseindustry, this market continues to grow yearon year.

Due to such extensive European cruiseoperations together with major investmentby the global cruise industry in new cruiseships at European shipyards, G. P. Wildestablished that significant economicimpacts were generated throughout Europe.In 2010 direct expenditure on the part ofthe cruise industry increased by 3.0% from2009 to €14.5 billion while the overalleconomic impacts of the cruise industry forthe year included €35.2 billion in totaloutput, 307,526 full time equivalent jobsand €9.3 billion in employee compensation.Cruise lines spent €6.0 billion with European

businesses on goods and services in supportof their cruise operations, an increase of9.5% over 2009. Cruise passenger andcrew spending amounted to €3.1 billion, anincrease of 8.1% over 2009. Passengerexpenditure included spending on shoreexcursions, pre and post cruise hotel stays,air travel and general merchandise at portsof embarkation and ports of call. Includingairfares, embarking passengers spent anaverage of nearly ?285 each. Excludingairfares, cruise passengers spent an averageof nearly €70 at embarkation port cities. Onaverage, cruise passengers spent another€61 at each port visit during their cruiseitinerary. Crew expenditure wasconcentrated on spending for retail goodsand food and beverages and averaged €16per crew member at each port call.

6. Ireland as a Cruise Destination

While transatlantic passenger liners havebeen calling to Irish ports for centuries,cruise ships first began to call on anintermittent basis in the 1970’s. Indeed, asrecently as 1989 the Port of Cork handled amere three cruise ships. However, in the1990’s there emerged evidence ofconsistent growth in cruise calls to Ireland,driven by marketing initiatives on the partof individual ports and Cruise Ireland. Bythen there was a growing awareness of thebenefits which accrue from cruise ship calls.In the early days the ships were engagedalmost exclusively in Round Britain andIreland cruises, and while these remain themost popular, nowadays ships are alsoinvolved in cruises to Iceland, Greenlandand the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian fjordsand North Western Europe. In addition,some Irish ports benefit from transatlanticcruises, world cruises and positioning cruisesto and from the Mediterranean. Theprincipal Irish ports of call are Dublin, Cork,Waterford, Belfast, Bantry Bay,Londonderry, Dun Laoghaire, Killybegs andShannon Foynes. Irish ports processed 77cruise ships and 64,000 cruise passengers in2000 and a Red C survey commissioned byFáilte Ireland estimated that by 2010 thesefigures had grown to 202 cruise ship callsand 204,000 cruise visitors, increases of162% and 219% respectively. (There is a

6

7

discrepancy between the G. P. Wild andRed C figures which may be explained byRed C including crew members in theircalculations). In 2010 Dublin, Ireland’spremier cruise port, accounted for 85 cruisecalls and 87,000 passengers and Cork,Ireland’s no. 2 cruise port, accounted for 52calls and 72,000 passengers. Withcombined throughput of 137 calls and159,000 passengers in 2010, Dublin andCork accounted for 68% of ship calls to theisland of Ireland and 78% of cruisepassengers.

Over the past 15/20 years, in common withother European cruising areas, there hasbeen a steady increase in the number ofcruise lines, both European and US based,operating in Irish and British waters.Growing demand from both the Europeanand US source markets has contributedstrongly to the increase. North WesternEurope is an ideal cruising area for USbased companies who need to findalternative cruising waters for their growingnumber of ships in summer and earlyautumn, when weather conditions in theCaribbean can be unpleasantly hot andhumid and when there is the ever presentthreat of hurricanes. In addition,Mediterranean ports can be very crowdedat this time of year. Another factor hasbeen the increase in the number of touroperators (largely British) who havediversified into the cruise market. A furtherfactor has been the onus on cruise lines tofind new destinations as the growingnumbers of repeat passengers grow tired ofthe same itineraries. Consequently “new”Irish and British ports of call have come onstream since the mid nineties, includingFoynes, Killybegs, Londonderry, Belfast (thelatter two were largely ignored during thetroubles in Northern Ireland), Oban,Hoyhead, Fishguard, Milford Haven andSwansea. Niche or special interest cruiseshave also grown in popularity e.g.expedition or exploration and discoverytype cruises concentrating largely on floraand fauna, garden tours, bird watching, etc.Special interest type cruises invariablyinvolve smaller groups who can beaccommodated more readily inenvironmentally sensitive areas, e.g. SkelligMichael and Small Skellig. Bantry Bay is well

situated to take advantage of niche cruiseswhich take in the west coast of Ireland.

6.1 Fáilte Ireland/Red C ResearchIn 2010 Fáilte Ireland commissioned Red CResearch Ltd to conduct interviews withinternational cruise visitors and operators.The following are some of the key findingsfrom the various surveys and interviewsconducted:

• In 2010 direct spend from passengersand crew who disembarked at Irish ports,including port charges, was estimated at€20.3 million. It is estimated thatpassengers and crew spent €14.7 millionwhile disembarked, port charges (excludingprovisions) contributed €3.2 million, andadvance payments which are repatriated toIreland added €2.4 million to direct spend.

• On average, passengers spend €71during their time disembarked at Irish ports.Expenditure by crew is also significantconsidering those that disembark spend anaverage of €48. This compares to anaverage per diem expenditure of €72 forholidaymakers who have arrived by air orferry to Ireland. While the two expenditurefigures appear quite similar, the per diemexpenditure for holidaymakers includesspend on accommodation.

• Cruise operators indicate that whileIreland is a well defined cruise destination,the cost and appearance of the ports can bea drawback for them. Cruise linesemphasise that revenue, cost, guestsatisfaction, shore excursions and portfacilities are key considerations for them

8

when planning their itineraries. In order toincrease its attractiveness as an internationalcruise destination, Ireland should establishitself within key routes by collaboratingwith a number of countries. Suchcollaboration would allow member ports toset service levels and market themselvesunder the one brand to cruise operators.

• Though Ireland was viewed as anestablished cruise destination amongstoperators, passengers’ impressions were stilldominated by ‘whiskey and castles’imagery. Ireland will need to promote acontemporary view of what the island hasto offer in order to attract the younger,higher spending cruise passengers to thecountry.

• Cruise operators prefer to limitfamiliarisation trips to new destinations.Where familiarisation trips are offered, theyneed to be well coordinated and structuredwith inputs from tourism representatives,port and local authorities. Offeringfamiliarisation trips to those sellingexcursion on board cruise ships representsan opportunity for Ireland to increase itspresence amongst sales staff.

• Tendering in a port is unpopular all roundwith operators, guests and staff. Operatorsare only inclined to tender if there is acompelling reason to do so or if guests areof a younger profile.

• Ireland was seen as an importantdestination on the itinerary for more thanfour out of every five passengers and themajority of those that disembarked hadalready made the decision to do so before

they reached an Irish port. Destinationflyers and local tourism information pointsat ports were particularly important inencouraging passengers to disembark atless well known ports. The proximity of thetown, interesting tourist sites, availability ofa shuttle service and the look of the portwere considered important to passengers intheir decision to disembark.

• Overall, passengers were satisfied withthe time they spent disembarked at Irishports, noting particular satisfaction withshuttle services, tours and touristattractions. While high levels of satisfactionwere reported with the look of the port inrespect of Cork, however Dublin andWaterford may need to improve their portappearance to sustain growth in cruisetourism. Cruise operators themselves prefera dedicated cruise berth in keeping with theluxury experience the cruise liner is creating.

• Though passengers reported high levelsof satisfaction with the tours on offer inIreland, a gap still exists between thevariety of tours offered by ground handlersand those acquired by cruise operators.Operators tend to lean towards the triedand tested tours despite requesting andbeing offered new and innovative tours byground handlers. On the back of the survey findings, Red Crecommended that

• Given the growth potential of this sectorand its current value of ?20.3 million indirect spend, Ireland should focus onattracting shorter cruises and those in themiddle stage of their itinerary which offerthe greatest value. It will be necessary forIreland to develop both the port and on-shore services to maximise its appeal tointernational operators and cruisepassengers in the future.

• Collaboration between ports to establishservice levels and savings. Market cruisingin Ireland as part of a wider group.Consider the expansion of route to includeNorth Atlantic islands – this offers thepossibility of turnarounds and use of westcoast ports.

9

7. Cruise Marketing Partnerships

Since the early 1990’s there has been agrowing appreciation of the value of cruisemarketing partnerships. While theimportance of direct marketing by individualports or cities is widely acknowledged andremains a key component of an area’scruise marketing strategy, co-operativemarketing by a business sector (e.g. ports)or by countries or by a geographical regionhas grown steadily, aided frequently in thecase of European initiatives, by EU funding.The first such cruise partnership, CruiseEurope, was formed in 1991. Since thenmany more have followed including CruiseIreland, Cruise Baltic, Cruise Britain, CruiseScotland, Cruise Norway, MedCruise, CruiseAtlantic Europe and Celtic Wave as well asmany partnerships in other parts of theworld e.g. the US, Canada, Australia etc.These partnerships market their respectiveareas in a variety of ways and attend theprincipal cruise industry conferences andexhibitions such as Cruise Shipping Miamiand Seatrade Europe. Cruise ShippingMiami is the world's largest annualgathering of cruise shipping industryexecutives, destinations and cruise shippingindustry supply chain representatives,attracting over 8000 delegates and over900 exhibitors selling everything from prepackaged foods to destinations, vesselfurnishings and even entire vessels.Seatrade Europe is a biennial event whichtakes place in Hamburg. It is the tradeplatform of the European cruise industry,bringing together senior buyers andplanners from the cruise industry togetherwith suppliers from all sectors of the oceanand river cruise industries for focusedbusiness interaction with conference,exhibition, travel agent programmes andnetworking social events.

The following partnerships have relevanceto this report:

7.1 Cruise EuropeCruise Europe (of which the Port of Cork was a founder member) is a diversegrouping of ports in northern Europe thatwas formed into an association in 1991 andtoday represents a membership of over 100ports in 29 countries within four

geographical regions, i.e. The Baltic, UnitedKingdom and Ireland, Norway, Iceland &Faroe Islands and Europe West Coast. It iscommitted to promoting Northern andWestern Europe as a world-class cruisedestination and to dedicating its marketingexpertise to serve both its members and theindustry.

Cruise Europe gears its marketing effortsdirectly to the cruise industry, using itswebsite to highlight the facilities andattractions of its member ports. It liaisesclosely with cruise operators on matterssuch as future ship deployment as well assafety, environmental and legislative issues.Cruise Europe is a major exhibitor at CruiseShipping Miami and it organises and staffs abooth at Seatrade Europe in Hamburg, Inaddition, Cruise Europe combines its AGMwith a conference to which it invites leadingindustry figures as guest speakers, to whomthe delegates then have ready access.

7.2 Cruise Atlantic EuropeThe Cruise Atlantic Europe partnership isthe initiative of a group of ports on theAtlantic front – Lisbon, Porto (Leixões), ACoruña, Bilbao, Brittany (Brest/St Malo),Dover and Cork – that has as its purpose toreinforce the position of the Atlantic Area inthe European cruise tourism market throughthe creation and promotion of new tourismproducts that will emphasise the value ofregional culture and Atlantic identity. TheAtlantic Area comprises the most importantmaritime coastline in Europe, approximately2500 km in length and home to close to 70million inhabitants. Cruise Atlantic Europeoperates its own website and arranges abooth at Cruise Shipping Miami.

7

10

7.3 Celtic WaveThe ‘Celtic Wave’ project is a partnership funded through the EuropeanRegional Development Fund with the aimof facilitating the development and growthof the cruise ship business in the Irish Sea.Celtic Wave is a Welsh Irish collaborativepartnership. Three Welsh ports, Anglesey,Milford Haven and Swansea have joinedforces with three ports on the south andeast coast of Ireland, Dublin, Cork andWaterford “to harness the unique Celticcultural identity to promote the Irish Sea asa cruise destination.” The Celtic Wavegroup employs similar marketing strategiesto the aforementioned cruise marketingorganizations.

7.4 Cruise IrelandThe first direct marketing campaign highlighting Ireland as an attractive cruisedestination to the dominant US cruisesector was undertaken in 1990 and sincethen vigorous, targeted marketing hascontributed to steady growth in the numberof cruise ships calling to Irish ports. On theinitiative of the Irish ports, Cruise Irelandwas founded in 1994 as a marketingorganisation with the objective ofestablishing Ireland as a premier cruisedestination for international cruise lines. Theinitiative encompassed the entire island ofIreland and in the interim its membershiphas been extended to include Fáilte Ireland,the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the IrishMaritime Development Organisation, shipand ground handling agents, local touristorganisations, visitor attractions and somemajor retail outlets. All members arecommitted to ensuring that visiting cruise

passengers and crew enjoy a unique andunforgettable experience during their visitto Ireland. Since the launch of CruiseIreland, cruise calls to the island of Irelandhave increased from 61 in 1994 to 202 in2010 and passenger numbers haveincreased by over 200% to 204,000passengers.

Cruise Ireland aims to ensure that memberports offer and maintain the highest servicestandards for cruise ship calls. CruiseIreland, on behalf of its members, marketsIreland and supplies detailed information onberthing, channel approaches, anchorage,arrival restrictions, facilities and services tocruise operators. As with other cruisepartnerships, Cruise Ireland mans booths atmajor industry events such as CruiseShipping Miami and Seatrade Europe.

8. Port of CorkThe Port of Cork, in addition to being thenearest major cruise port to Bantry Bay, isone of the most successful cruise ports inBritain and Ireland. For over twenty yearsthe Port of Cork, through vigorousmarketing programmes and multi millioneuro investments in upgrading existing portfacilities to keep pace with trends towardslarger cruise ships, has aided the economyof the South West region to reap richdividends from the success of the cruiseindustry. Independent evidence of this canbe found in a report into the “EconomicContribution of the Port of Cork to the IrishEconomy” in 2007 by Dr. Richard Moloneyand Dr. Aisling Ward of University CollegeCork which established that the port’s cruisebusiness contributed €40.9 million in totaloutput to the economy and accounted for197 full time equivalent jobs.

From a meagre three cruise calls in 1989,the year before the port’s cruise marketingefforts commenced, the Port of Corkwelcomed 54 cruise ships and an estimated75,000 cruise passengers in 2011. The Porthas some outstanding advantages to offerthe cruise industry, not least being itsstrategic location on the south coast ofIreland within easy steaming time of themajor British homeports (primarilySouthampton and Dover) and of Europeanports situated on the western coast of

11

8

mainland Europe. It is conveniently situatedfor cruises taking in the Atlantic coast ofEurope, for round Britain and Irelandcruises, for transatlantic cruises, for cruisesto the Norwegian fjords and Iceland and forpositioning cruises to and from theMediterranean.

The Cobh Cruise Terminal, which canaccommodate almost any ship of theworld’s cruise fleet, is the only dedicatedcruise facility in Ireland and one which isnot subject to tidal constraints. A majorquayside attraction is the Cobh HeritageCentre while the picturesque town of Cobhis located within a few hundred metres ofthe cruise terminal. The Port can alsohandle large cruise ships at the RingaskiddyDeepwater Terminal while smaller cruiseships up to 140 metres in overall length canbe accommodated at the Cork City Quays.

The Port of Cork offers the cruise passengeran exceptional range of individuallydesigned shore excursions, ranging fromthose suitable for large numbers ofpassengers to those catering for smallgroups with specialty niche interests e.g.gardening, golf, sailing, deep-sea fishingetc. In addition to the traditional excursionsto Cork city, a Cork stopover allows thepassenger to sample some of the country’smost popular visitor attractions e.g. BlarneyCastle and Woollen Mills, the Lakes ofKillarney and the Waterford Crystal FactoryTour. Increasingly popular shore excursionsinclude visits to Kinsale, the Rock of Cashel,the striking countryside of West Cork,including Glengarriff, and a tour of theJameson Heritage Centre in Midleton.

8.1 CorkCruiseCorkCruise, an initiative undertaken by thePort of Cork in 1991, comprises the Port ofCork, the Cobh and Harbour Chamber ofCommerce and private sector companieswhich supply services to the cruise sector.The primary function of CorkCruise is toprovide a local interface with visiting cruisepassengers to ensure that they enjoy awarm and uniquely special Cork welcomefrom the moment the ship ties up to itseventual departure. CorkCruiserepresentatives board each cruise ship onarrival and provide passengers with tourist

and other information to enhance theenjoyment of their visit. When passengersreturn from shore excursions, they areinvariably treated to a display of traditionalIrish dancing in the ship's theatre. Prior todeparture, a band performs on the quaysideand the interaction between passengers andpeople gathered on the quaysideguarantees an emotional farewell. Duringthe day senior Port of Cork, Cobh andHarbour Chamber of Commerce andCorkCruise representatives board the vesseland welcome the ship’s captain and officers.On occasions CorkCruise and local touristinterests arrange entertainment in Cobh forcruise passengers and for visitors frommany parts of Ireland who come in evergrowing numbers (particularly at weekends)to view the ships, many of whom are trulyspectacular. In recent years these “local”visitors have become an important sourceof revenue for the town’s food andbeverage and retail sectors.

8.2 Lessons from the Cork Experience• Importance of direct selling to individualcruise lines

• Advantage of personal cruise contacts atsenior level

• Target three distinct cruise markets i.e.British, mainland European and US markets.

• Attractive shore excursions and shoreside attractions/amenities (including goodretail outlets) are essential

• Good port facilities are vital althoughcost of developing new facilities is high

• Value of co-operative marketing i.e.being part of cruise partnerships

• Ships are getting bigger

• Value of name recognition - capital citiessuch as Dublin, London, Paris, Copenhagenetc have major advantages over lesserknown destinations

• Friendly efficient ground handling agentselicit a positive response from passengerstaking interesting and well organised shoreexcursions

12

• The cruise industry confers a majorpositive economic impact on thesurrounding hinterland

• Cruise ships have potential to generatevery positive PR for ports of call andsurrounding areas

• Cruise ship calls to Cork attract manyvisitors from Cork city and county and, onoccasions, from further afield

• Significance of involving local tourismand commercial interests. This is vital forlocal morale and for claiming ownership ofthe cruise initiative. It is also viewed in apositive light by cruise lines.

• Importance of extending warm welcome.Passengers respond positively and this isreflected in their formal assessments whenrequested to rate experiences at individualports of call.

• Cruise lines are attracted to majorsporting events, e.g. Irish Golf Open, TallShips, Ryder Cup etc. and also to localevents such as festivals, pageants etc.

9. Bantry Bay(Bantry/Glengarriff/Castletownbere) as aCruise Destination

Since the mid to late nineties cruise shipshave been calling to West Cork, primarily toBantry Bay, with passengers invariablygoing ashore at Glengarriff. On rareoccasions some very small cruise ships havecalled to Castletownbere, Schull orBaltimore or even anchored off Cape Clearbut ,other than for these very small cruiseships, port and coach parking facilities areinadequate, hence the concentration onGlengarriff. However, recent developmentsat Dinish Island in Castletownbere andplanned improvements at the Town Pier,may lead cruise lines to re-considerCastletownbere as a cruise destination.

The cruise lines calling to Bantry/Glengarriffhave been principally British based or, to alesser extent, German based, using older,small to medium size ships and invariably

(though not exclusively) undertaking cruisesalong the west coast of Ireland as part ofRound Britain and Ireland cruises. Ships’tenders (occasionally complemented byshore based tenders) are employed to ferrypassengers ashore at Glengarriff as pierfacilities are inadequate to service regularcruise ships. While the response of cruisepassengers has been largely positive, cruiselines are reluctant to commit more than theoccasional call due primarily to the vagariesof weather off the south west and westcoasts of Ireland and also to the fact thatmost ports in that part of Ireland (with thenotable exceptions of Foynes and Killybegs,neither of which offers particularly attractiveshore excursions) do not offer pier facilitiesfor cruise ships.

Cruise ship calls offer cruise lines options fora range of attractive shore excursionsincluding

• The Ring of Béara and Kenmare

• The Lakes of Killarney and Muckross House

• Gougane Barra

• Skibbereen and Kinsale

• Bantry and Bantry House9

13

9.1 Bantry Bay/Glengarriff – Marine FacilitiesBantry Bay, situated on Latitude 51°42'NLongitude 9°28'W, is administered byBantry Bay Harbour Commissioners and isthe largest of the long marine inlets insouth west Ireland. It is approximately 35km long, running in a south-west to north-easterly direction. The entrance to the bayis approximately 10 km wide, steadilynarrowing to 3-4 km at its head. BereIsland, situated on the north shore adjacentto Castletownbere, and Whiddy Island,lying near the head of the bay on thesouthern shore, are the two largest islandsin the bay. The principal entrance to Bantry

Inner Harbour is through a narrow but deepchannel leading east of Horse Islet. There isan alternative entrance west of Horse Islet.The depth of water at the harbour’sentrance is 10.97metres CD (chart datum). The vast confines of Bantry Bay offer arange of safe and convenient anchorages.Most cruise ships anchor off Glengarriff,while occasionally some anchor in BantryInner Harbour. As there are no facilities toberth cruise ships alongside mainland piers,cruise passengers are transferred ashore bytender, invariably to Glengarriff Pier. Thepier, consisting of two pontoons, measures24 metres in overall length with 2.0 metresCD alongside. While the pontoons haveserviced cruise traffic for over a decade,some repairs are required at present. Theserepairs are estimated to cost€30,000/€40,000. In addition, a thirdpontoon is highly desirable and wouldincorporate wheelchair access forpassengers. Capital cost is estimated atapproximately €25,000.There is also potential to service cruise shiptenders at Bantry Town Pier, situated a mere0.5 miles from the nearest anchorage. Anew pontoon, costing approximately€300,000, is due to be installed by the endof 2011 and will provide wheelchairaccessibility. In addition, it is planned toraise the level of the pier at a cost ofapproximately €400,000.

14

9.2 Castletownbere Fishery Harbour – Marine FacilitiesCastletownbere Fishery Harbour, situatedon Latitude 51°39'N Longitude 9°54'W atthe mouth of Bantry Bay, is owned by theDepartment of Agriculture, Fisheries andFood and is managed by the Department’sSea Fisheries Administration Division.Following a port security facility assessment,it is anticipated that the port will be ISPS(International Ship and Port FacilitySecurity) compliant by the end of 2010,thus enhancing the security status of theport. The harbour encompasses a shelteredarea of water in Bantry Bay, fromArdnakinna Pt. in the west toRoancarrigmore in the east, and is boundedby Bere Island to the south and themainland to the north.

The main approach to the harbour is fromthe west past Ardnakinna Pt. The easternapproach is between Roancarrigmor andCarrigavaddra Beacon and up throughBerehaven. Once inside, the harbour dividesinto two halves. On the Dinish Island side,following recent investment ofapproximately €40 million in quayconstruction, dredging and ancillary works,there is a magnificent facility of 210 metresof continuous berthage with 8 metres ChartDatum (CD). The 40 metre wide approach

channel has a depth of 6metres CD.However, there is a limited turning circle forvessels at Dinish and this in turn restrictsthe length of vessel to 100 metres OALwith a turning circle of 60 metres at lowwater. At 60metres out from Dinish pierthe depth of water shoals to 4.5 metres andthereafter to 4 metres. Depending on theforward draft of the vessel it may not beable to turn in the harbour at low water.Unfortunately this would preclude all butthe very smallest cruise ships from berthing.

On the town side of the harbour there are350 metres of berthage with 4 metres CDalongside. It is planned to have a newpontoon, complete with wheelchair access,in place by spring 2012. This will providefor safe and prompt disembarkation fromcruise ships’ tenders.

While anchorage is very restricted inside theharbour, there are sheltered anchoragesoutside the harbour. However, althoughsmaller cruise ships may be anchored withina mile of the nearest berthage, largervessels will be required to anchor some twomiles off, thereby making the journey timeby ship’s tender from ship to shore relativelyunattractive to such ships.

9.3 Furious PierBeara Tourism Board is currently seeking to re-develop disused Furious Pieras a deepwater port facility. Located threeand a half miles east of Castletownbere atBerehaven Golf Club, there is a minimumdepth of 20 metres in the approach channeland 7 metres alongside. Furious Pier, ifdeveloped, and depending on the length ofberthage, would have the potential toaccommodate many of the largest cruiseships afloat. However, construction costsare prohibitive and only public sectorinvestment (national and/or EU) can fundsuch a development. In addition, otherrevenue sources, besides cruise, would berequired to achieve a realistic return oninvestment.

15

Shipping Previous Next Passenger Actual No Pass Disemb TonnageName of Vessel Cruise Line Agent Port Port LOA Draft Capacity Passengers Location Income

2001 Clipper Adventurer Clipper Cruise Line BTA St Marys UK Fishguard UK 100 4.5 122 80 Glengarriff € 328

2002 Berlin Deilmann BTA La Pallice Fr St Peters Port UK 139 5.1 370 366 Glengarriff € 718 Polar Star Karlssen Shipping BTA Tresco UK Dingle Irl 91 4.5 96 32 Glengarriff € 375 Clipper Adventurer Clipper Cruise Line BTA Scilly Isles UK Fishguard UK 100 4.5 122 105 Glengarriff € 328 Hebridean Princess Hebridean Island Cruises BTA Baltimore Irl C/Bere Irl 72 3 49 33 Glengarriff € 158 Hebridean Spirit Hebridean Island Cruises BTA Dartmouth UK London UK 90 4.2 74 49 Glengarriff € 310 Deutschland Peter Deilmann BTA Oban UK London UK 175 5.8 620 460 Glengarriff € 1,680

2003 Polar Star Karlssen Shipping BTA Milford Haven UK Aran Is Irl 91 4.5 96 87 Glengarriff € 375 Sea Cloud 2 Sea Cloud Cruises BTA Tresco UK Foynes Irl 117 4.5 94 50 Glengarriff € 289 Hebridean Spirit Hebridean Island Cruises BTA Kinsale Inishmaan Irl 90 4.5 49 40 Glengarriff € 321 Black Prince Fred Olsen Cruises BTA Cobh Dingle 143 6.42 395 365 Glengarriff € 841 Hebridean Spirit Hebridean Island Cruises BTA Dartmouth UK Schull Irl 90 4.5 49 40 Glengarriff € 321

2004 Clipper Adventurer Clipper Cruise Line BTA Tresco UK Dingle 100 4.5 122 48 Glengarriff € 328

2005 Polar Star Karlssen Shipping BTA Scilly Iles UK Aran Isles Irl 91 4.5 96 82 Glengarriff € 375 Deutschland Peter Deilmann BTA La Pallice France Cobh Irl 175 5.8 620 261 Glengarriff € 1,680 MV Explorer Lindblad Expeditions BTA Aran Isles Irl Scilly Isles UK 73 4.45 104 99 Glengarriff € 183 Clipper Adventurer Clipper Cruise Line BTA Tresco UK Kenmare Irl 100 4.5 122 105 Glengarriff € 328 Minerva 2 All Leisure Holidays BTA Cobh Irl Galway Irl 180 6 826 565 Glengarriff € 2,271 Hebridean Spirit Hebridean Island Cruises BTA Scilly Iles UK Cobh Irl 96 4.2 80 72 Glengarriff € 315 Delphin Renaissance Delphin Seereisen BTA 181 6 702 379 Glengarriff

2006 Polar Star Karlssen Shipping BTA Milford Haven UK Aran Is Irl 91 4.5 96 87 Glengarriff € 375 HANSEATIC Hanseatic (Hapag-Lloyd) Cruises BTA Scilly Isles UK Aran Is Irl 122 4.8 184 85 Glengarriff € 628 Black Watch Fred Olsen BTA Foynes Irl Dover UK 206 7.3 820 799 Glengarriff € 2,145 EUROPA Hapag Lloyd BTA Galway Irl Tresco UK 198 6 408 356 Glengarriff € 2,166

2007 Deutschland P.Deilmann BTA Cobh Irl Killybegs Irl 175 5.8 620 444 Glengarriff € 1,687

2008 SAGA RUBY Saga Cruises BTA La Pallice Fr Cobh Irl 191 8.6 655 646 Glengarriff € 1,837 BOUDICCA Fred Olsen BTA Falmouth UK Reykjavik Iceld 205 7.6 850 733 Glengarriff € 2,128 EUROPA Hapag-Lloyd BTA Tresco UK Galway Irl 198 6 418 405 Glengarriff € 2,166 COLUMBUS Hapag-Lloyd BTA Dublin Irl Falmouth UK 116 4.8 420 362 Glengarriff € 1,130 MARCO POLO Global Cruise Athens BTA Cobh Irl Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 791 Glengarriff € 1,656 MARCO POLO Global Cruise Athens BTA Killybegs Irl Cobh Irl 176 8.2 850 705 Glengarriff € 1,656

2009 Saga Rose Saga Cruises BTA Foynes Irl Cobh Irl 189 8.2 620 441 Glengarriff € 1,835 Minerva All –Leisure BTA Cobh Irl Killybegs Irl 135 6.1 350 330 Glengarriff € 934 MARCO POLO Global Cruise Athens BTA Cobh Irl Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 743 Glengarriff € 1,656 Deutschland P.Deilmann BTA Hamburg Gery St Johns New Foundland 175 5.8 620 413 Glengarriff € 1,687 MARCO POLO Global Cruise Athens BTA KillyBegs Irl Cobh Irl 176 8.2 705 605 Glengarriff € 1,656

2010 Expedition GAP Adventures BTA Islay UKScilly Isles UK 104 4.61 120 94 Glengarriff € 463 Expedition GAP Adventures BTA Islay UK Scilly Isles UK 104 4.61 120 94 Glengarriff € 463 ADRIANA III Marina Cruises BTA Rossaveil Irl Brest France 104 4.5 302 179 Glengarriff € 337 ADRIANA III Marina Cruises BTA Rossaveil Irl Brest France 104 4.5 302 185 Glengarriff € 337 Alexander von Humboldt Phoenix Reisen Monaco BTA Scilly Isles UK Foynes Irl 151 5.82 586 196 Glengarriff € 1,155 ADRIANA III Marina Cruises BTA Rossaveil Irl Brest France 104 4.5 302 185 Glengarriff € 337 Minerva All–Leisure BTA Sark UK Killybegs Irl 135 6.1 350 339 Glengarriff € 934 AMADEA Phoenix Reisen Monaco BTA Tresco UK Milford UK 190 6.61 624 578 Glengarriff € 2,164 MARCO POLO Global Cruise Athens BTA St Marys UK Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 792 Glengarriff € 1,656

2011 Clipper Odyssey Odyssey Owner Ltd BTA Killybegs Irl Tresco UK 103 4.2 128 86 Glengarriff € 391 Spirit of Adventure Saga Cruises II Ltd BTA Falmouth UK Foynes Irl 139 5.1 352 330 Glengarriff € 718 AMADEA Phoenix Reisen Monaco BTA 190 6.61 624 624 Glengarriff € 2,175

10. Cruise Ship Calls to Bantry Bay 2001-2011:

Next Passenger Actual No Pass Disemb TonnagePort LOA Draft Capacity Passengers Location Income

Fishguard UK 100 4.5 122 80 Glengarriff € 328

Port UK 139 5.1 370 366 Glengarriff € 718 Dingle Irl 91 4.5 96 32 Glengarriff € 375 Fishguard UK 100 4.5 122 105 Glengarriff € 328 C/Bere Irl 72 3 49 33 Glengarriff € 158 London UK 90 4.2 74 49 Glengarriff € 310 London UK 175 5.8 620 460 Glengarriff € 1,680

Aran Is Irl 91 4.5 96 87 Glengarriff € 375 Foynes Irl 117 4.5 94 50 Glengarriff € 289 Inishmaan Irl 90 4.5 49 40 Glengarriff € 321 Dingle 143 6.42 395 365 Glengarriff € 841 Schull Irl 90 4.5 49 40 Glengarriff € 321

Dingle 100 4.5 122 48 Glengarriff € 328

Aran Isles Irl 91 4.5 96 82 Glengarriff € 375 Cobh Irl 175 5.8 620 261 Glengarriff € 1,680 Scilly Isles UK 73 4.45 104 99 Glengarriff € 183 Kenmare Irl 100 4.5 122 105 Glengarriff € 328 Galway Irl 180 6 826 565 Glengarriff € 2,271 Cobh Irl 96 4.2 80 72 Glengarriff € 315

181 6 702 379 Glengarriff

Aran Is Irl 91 4.5 96 87 Glengarriff € 375 Aran Is Irl 122 4.8 184 85 Glengarriff € 628 Dover UK 206 7.3 820 799 Glengarriff € 2,145 Tresco UK 198 6 408 356 Glengarriff € 2,166

Killybegs Irl 175 5.8 620 444 Glengarriff € 1,687

Cobh Irl 191 8.6 655 646 Glengarriff € 1,837 Reykjavik Iceld 205 7.6 850 733 Glengarriff € 2,128 Galway Irl 198 6 418 405 Glengarriff € 2,166 Falmouth UK 116 4.8 420 362 Glengarriff € 1,130 Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 791 Glengarriff € 1,656 Cobh Irl 176 8.2 850 705 Glengarriff € 1,656

Cobh Irl 189 8.2 620 441 Glengarriff € 1,835 Killybegs Irl 135 6.1 350 330 Glengarriff € 934 Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 743 Glengarriff € 1,656 St Johns New Foundland 175 5.8 620 413 Glengarriff € 1,687 Cobh Irl 176 8.2 705 605 Glengarriff € 1,656

Isles UK 104 4.61 120 94 Glengarriff € 463 Scilly Isles UK 104 4.61 120 94 Glengarriff € 463 Brest France 104 4.5 302 179 Glengarriff € 337 Brest France 104 4.5 302 185 Glengarriff € 337 Foynes Irl 151 5.82 586 196 Glengarriff € 1,155 Brest France 104 4.5 302 185 Glengarriff € 337 Killybegs Irl 135 6.1 350 339 Glengarriff € 934 Milford UK 190 6.61 624 578 Glengarriff € 2,164 Killybegs Irl 176 8.2 850 792 Glengarriff € 1,656

Tresco UK 103 4.2 128 86 Glengarriff € 391 Foynes Irl 139 5.1 352 330 Glengarriff € 718

190 6.61 624 624 Glengarriff € 2,175

Examination of the above table reveals thatof the 48 cruise ship calls

• All of the ships anchored in Bantry Bayand all of the passengers disembarked atGlengarriff. However, in 2002 theHebridean Princess went on toCastletownbere from Glengarriff.

• Four British based cruise lines accountedfor 19 calls

• Five German based cruise lines accountedfor 14 calls

• Three US based cruise lines accounted for6 calls

• Two Canadian based cruise linesaccounted for 6 calls

• One French company accounted for 3calls

• 15 vessels were engaged onexpedition/exploration type cruises

• 32 vessels were on cruises which took inthe west coast of Ireland

• Of the remaining 16 ships, 7 cruised toor from UK ports, 3 called at Cobh, twohaving arrived from France and one havingarrived from the UK, and one each on aUK/Iceland cruise, a France/UK cruise, aDublin/UK cruise, a transatlantic cruise fromGermany and a Mediterranean positioningcruise which originated in Germany. It wasnot possible to establish details of onecruise.

• The number of ships per annumaveraged 4.4 over the period. Howeverthere was no clear pattern of growth ordecline. Cruise calls ranged from a low ofone ship in 2001, 2004 and 2007 to a highof nine ships in 2010.

• In total there were 19,000 passengersduring the period, an average of 1700 perannum and 400 per ship. The passengercapacity of the vessels ranged from a low of49 passengers to a high of 850 passengers.

• Total tonnage revenue for Bantry BayHarbour Commissioners amounted to€47,000, an average of €4300 per annumor €990 per ship.

10 11

19

1211. 2012 Cruise Ship Schedule

There are seven cruise ships due to call atBantry/Glengarriff in 2012 and two atCastletownbere. There will be two calls bythe Silver Explorer, an expedition type shipowned by the US based five star cruise line,Silversea Cruises; one call each by theMarco Polo and the Ocean Countess, bothoperated by British based Cruise andMaritime Voyages and one call by theMinerva, operated by British based SwanHellenic, part of the All Leisure Group. Inaddition, there are two scheduled calls bythe Hebridean Princess, also operated by anAll Leisure Group company, HebrideanIsland Cruises. The Hebridean Princess isalso scheduled to make two calls toCastletownbere (as part of the same cruiseswhich will call to Bantry/Glengarriff),bringing to nine the total number of cruiseships due to call at Bantry Bay in 2012. TheHebridean Princess, during those twocruises, will also call to Schull and Kinsale. Itis noteworthy that Silversea Cruises will bemaking their first ever calls to Bantry Baywhile Silversea’s Silver Whisper will call toFoynes.

It is particularly noteworthy that two majorCarnival Corporation Group cruise lines,Holland America Line and P&O Cruises,have scheduled calls to Foynes in 2012.This is particularly encouraging as itindicates that the mainstream cruise linesare giving serious consideration to the westcoast of Ireland for future cruising.Undoubtedly the ability of Foynes to handlethe ships alongside (albeit subject to tidalconstraints) has been an advantage.However, there is growing evidence thatpersistent marketing by Foynes, Galwayand Killybegs in recent years is beginning tobear fruit. There are ten cruise shipsscheduled to call at Killybegs in 2012,operated by companies such as Compagniedu Ponant , Silversea Cruises, Saga Cruises,Swan Hellenic, Cruise and MaritimeVoyages, Phoenix Reisen and Voyages ofDiscovery. The number and variety of cruiselines calling to Foynes and other west coastports (e.g. Lindblad Expeditions) in 2012confirm the growing popularity of the westcoast of Ireland as a cruising area.

12. SWOT ANALYSIS – BANTRYBAY/GLENGARRIFF/CASTLETOWNBERE

Strengths• Bantry Bay offers large shelteredanchorages

• Bantry Bay/Glengarriff has provensuccessful record in handling a range ofcruise ships, including exploration anddiscovery type ships whose passengers arekeen to learn about the areas they visit andto embrace authentic experiences of thelocal environment.

• Small cruise ships up to 100 metres inoverall length can berth alongside at DinishIsland

• Competitive port charges at both Bantryand Castletownbere

• Distance from anchorage to pier atGlengarriff within acceptable industrynorms

• Ships’ tenders can be supplemented withlocal, registered passenger craft

• Cruise passengers enjoy an unclutteredvisit away from the problems experiencedat more popular ports where there can beother cruise ships in port on a given day.This results in crowded and uncomfortabletourist attractions and in passengerscomparing notes with passengers on otherships, often to the displeasure of individualcruise lines

• Proximity to internationally acclaimedKillarney which can be included in shoreexcursion options

• Proximity to Bantry House, Garnish Islandand picturesque Glengarriff to whichpassengers can walk from Glengarriff pier.

• Cruise passengers assured of genuine,traditional Irish welcome

• Existing tourism infrastructure(information centres , art galleries, craftshops, bars, restaurants)

11

20

• Surrounding area abounds withspectacular scenery (e.g. Béara Way) andstunning examples of flora and fauna in apristine setting

• Acceptable journey time to the Ring ofBeara, Kenmare and Killarney

Weaknesses• Due to limited port facilities, to date allcruise ships have been required to anchorwhile dedicated cruise terminal facilities areterribly expensive and impossible to justify.

• Geographical location limits the range ofcruises which can be attracted – Ireland andBritain suffer by comparison with the Balticand the Mediterranean. Typical cruiseshistorically have been of the “round Britainand Ireland” variety but only a minority optto cruise along the west coast of Irelanddue to uncertain weather conditions

• In the past cruise calls have been limitedlargely to older, medium size vessels fromBritish or European cruise lines or smallexpedition type ships from US basedcharterers

• As time goes by, these older ships willneed to be replaced. However, most shipsbuilt in the past 10/15 years have been ofthe larger variety which have not visitedBantry Bay

• Facilities at Glengarriff pier are limitedand in need of upgrading while coachparking facilities in Bantry andCastletownbere are inadequate

• There is not an awareness ofCastletownbere as a cruise port amongcruise lines as it has very rarely attractedany cruise ships

• Narrow winding roads in parts of theBéara peninsula present difficulties forcoaches on shore excursions

• Shore side attractions are too limited toaccommodate the 2000/4000 passengers tobe found on the large modern cruise ships.

• Bantry/Glengarriff has limited namerecognition among international cruisers

while Castletownbere has no track record inthat regard.

• There is no targeted destinationmarketing aimed at the cruise industry asthere is no organisation/body with specificresponsibility to promote cruise tourism forthe area

Opportunities• Strong growth in cruise market over pasttwo decades likely to increase number ofcruise ships deployed in Europe, includingIreland

• Cruise operators continuously seek newports of call so as to revitalise theiritineraries with new and excitingdestinations

• Cruise lines still prepared to call to tenderports, even the largest cruise ships e.g.Queen Mary 2 have called to Dunmore Eastin Waterford and to Queensferry nearEdinburgh

• Improve port facilities at Glengarriff,Bantry and Castletownbere

• In addition to traditional round Britainand Ireland cruises, there is evidence tosuggest cruise lines are considering othertype cruises when including Glengarriff intheir itineraries e.g. this year’s call by theAmadea which commenced in Bremerhavenand ended in Nice in the Mediterranean.

• The upgrade of Bantry Town Pier, due forcompletion by end 2011, will providefurther options for cruise lines

• Consider a co-ordinated plan by publicand private interests to provide a facelift forCastletownbere and engender a moretourism friendly outlook to make it moreattractive to the cruise industry

• The ambitious proposal by GalwayHarbour Company to construct a newmulti-million euro deepwater port whichwould target the cruise industry specifically.While, at first glance, should it materialise,it might provide increased competition, itshould also attract additional cruise ships to

22

the west coast of Ireland as it wouldrepresent one fewer tendering port. This inturn should benefit Bantry Bay as it is withincomfortable overnight steaming time ofGalway.

• Set up an organisation or group ornominate an existing one to devise andimplement a marketing plan aimedspecifically at the cruise sector.

• Enlist the aid of the Port of Cork to assistwith marketing

• With the assistance of Tourism Ireland,arrange familiarisation trips for key decisionmakers in the cruise industry to visit WestCork

• Build on the goodwill and interestgenerated by the visits of Queen Elizabethand President Obama to Ireland

• Should Castletownbere’s Tourism Board’sproposal to develop a deepwater berth atFurious Pier materialise, it would have themajor advantage of permitting most cruiseships to berth alongside

Threats• A declining number of older, small tomedium size cruise ships over the nextdecade as they are replaced by bigger shipswhich, with their thousands of passengers,are more difficult to accommodate atlimited visitor attractions in the BéaraPeninsula and surrounding area.

• The cruise industry is targeted by a largenumber of rival ports e.g. Dingle,Caherciveen, Foynes, Killybegs andGalway, thus providing stiff competition forBantry Bay.

• Poor return on investment for ports orother agencies charged with the provisionof new/upgraded facilities for cruise ships.

• The insistence by the Department ofTransport that cruise lines and their shippingagents complete detailed applications forpassenger certificate licences in respect ofships’ tenders, a demand not widespread inother EU member states but required foreach call at an Irish port. This requirementhas been deemed to be unreasonable bysome cruise lines as ships’ tenders arealready certificated by the ship’s flag state.One German cruise line which has usedGlengarriff regularly in the past,commenting on the Irish regulation, statedthat “If there are no positive changes, weplan to cancel all future calls”.

• Cruise line preference for familiar, moreestablished, tried and trusted destinationsproviding assured shore excursion revenue,particularly at a time when cruise line faresand margins are under immense pressure

• With the larger cruise lines offeringexciting cruises on modern mega ships atvery attractive fares, there will be growingpressure on smaller, less well capitalisedcruise lines who have traditionally operatedcruises around the west coast of Ireland.

• Reduced air fares may lead more cruisepassengers to opt for warmer and moreexciting cruising areas e.g. theMediterranean and the Caribbean inpreference to cruising around Ireland

The Spirit of Adventure, operated by Spiritof Adventure Cruises (a subsidiary of SagaCruises) called to Bantry Bay on 25 July ona 14 night Celtic Legends cruise from Doverto Dover, taking in Dartmouth, Falmouth,Glengarriff, Foynes, Galway, the islands ofOrkney and Hebrides, Dublin, Pembrokeand St. Peter Port, Guernsey as illustrated. The day was pleasant and sunny with littleor no wind and the vessel went to an inner

23

13

24

Glengarriff Passenger SurveyThere were three cruise ship calls to Bantry Bay in 2011 with all passenger disembarkations at Glengarriff. Togauge cruise line and passenger reaction to a Glengarriff call, a questionnaire, as outlined, was prepared andused interviews were conducted with the captains and some of the passengers of two of the vessels, the Spiritof Adventure and the Amadea.

Cruise Liner Passenger/Crew Survey Questionnaire

• Cruise West Cork would greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time in order to complete this questionnaire

• The results will form part of a study of the potential for cruise tourism in West Cork

• Nationality Age Category

• Country of residence Under 25in last 12 months 25-34

35-49Cruise Passenger 50-65Crew Member over 65(Please tick as appropriate)

Please state how you spent your time while ashore Cruised previously? If so how often?(Please tick box as appropriate)

Guided Coach TripPrivate/sightseeing TripOther type of Trip (please specify)

Approximately how much money did you spend ashore?

Rate Glengarriff as a cruise destination on a scale of 1 to 10?

Did calling to Glengarriff influence your decision re this cruise?

Was the tendering operation (a) pleasant or (b) unpleasant?

Would you return on a shore based holiday?

13

anchorage from which the tender time toGlengarriff Pier was no more than tenminutes. The Spirit of Adventure’s master,Capt David Owen was very positivetowards Glengarriff as a cruise destinationand recalled that he had personally plannedand conducted a very successful mysterycruise for Saga Cruises to Glengarriff in2008. He was of the view that Glengarriffhad considerable potential as a cruise portof call and was surprised that it was notmore successful in attracting a greaternumber of cruise ships.

The 348 passenger capacity vessel enjoyed100% occupancy and seven coaches wereemployed to take passengers on shoreexcursions. Six coaches took in the Ring ofBéara and Kenmare and one coach visitedGougane Barra. 29 passengers wereinterviewed in a random sample as theyreturned from shore excursions. In addition,3 crew members were also interviewed. Aspassengers alighted from the coaches, itwas evident that, by and large, they were ina good mood, having thoroughly enjoyedtheir time ashore.

The following is a summary of the findingsof the survey:• Very little money was spent ashore,possibly due to the limited free timeavailable, although, despite that, there

appeared to be a general sense thatconsumer goods were expensive. Incontrast to the scene at Cobh where logosof prominent retailers are to the fore ascruise passengers alight from coaches, not asingle shopping bag was in evidence inGlengarriff.

• Of 30 respondents, 22 or 73% rated theGlengarriff call at 7 or better on a scale of 1to 10, while the balance of 8 respondentsor 27% rated it at 6 or lower.

• Of 22 respondents, 14 or 64% statedthat Glengarriff/Ireland being on the cruiseitinerary was a factor in their deciding totake this cruise while 8 or 26% said it wasnot.

• Of 27 respondents, 18 or 66% felt thetendering operation was pleasant while 9 or34% felt it was ok. No one found theexperience unpleasant.

• Of 23 respondents, 16 or 70% claimedthey would be interested in returning to thearea on a shore based holiday while 7 or30% said they would not.

• Most of the cruise passengers appearedto be quite experienced. Of 14respondents, 12 or 86% claimed to havecruised previously while 2 or 14% had not.

• Of the three crew members interviewed,two felt that Irish prices were very high,particularly the cost of alcohol in bars. Thethird crew member had to make a purchasein a pharmacy and thought prices therewere similar to those in the UK.

• There was widespread agreement thatthere was wonderful scenery on offer onthe Ring of Béara tour although there wassome criticism that no time had beenallocated for coaches to stop and allowpassengers time to take photos.

• A number of passengers remarked on theattractiveness of Kenmare butCastletownbere proved to be less attractive.Some felt that Castletownbere had theappearance of an industrial town with verylittle to offer visitors.

25

• A few felt that there was insufficientshopping time in Kenmare.

• There was general agreement that thecouriers were courteous and knowledgeablealthough two complained that they talkedtoo much.The response of one particular passengerwas quite enlightening. A lecturer byprofession, he has undertaken a number ofphotographic assignments for the BBC andNational Geographic. These BBCassignments took the form ofphotographing various areas around theworld as potential film locations. He wasecstatic about his experience ashore (hetravelled on one of the coaches whichundertook the Ring of Béara/Kenmare tour)and felt that the area had “everything”.However he felt hugely frustrated as heregarded the day as one of a great “missedopportunity”. He was particularly criticalthat no coach stops had been arranged toenable passengers to capture on camera thebeauty of the area and to bring pictureshome for their personal enjoyment and thatof their friends. In turn, he claimed, thepictures would become free marketingmaterial for the region. Accompanied by hiswife, he was on his first visit to this part ofIreland and they both felt that the area wasa hidden gem which cried out to bepromoted.

The Amadea, owned by V Ships of Monacobut operated on a long term charter byGerman based Phoenix Reisen , called toGlengarriff on 2 October on a 17 day cruisefrom Bremerhaven to Nice, taking inDartmouth, Waterford, Glengarriff, twocalls in the Azores, Funchal, Lisbon, Tangier,Gibraltar, Malaga, Cartagena and Barcelona,as illustrated. The passengers were entirelyGerman.

The day was wet and very foggy withlimited visibility and the vessel went to aregular liner anchorage from which thetender time to Glengarriff wasapproximately 20 minutes. The fog becameso dense at one stage during the morningthat all tender movements to and from theship had to be suspended for a period ofapproximately two hours. The master wasSwedish and on his first visit to Bantry Bay.While expressing disappointment with theweather from the passengers’ perspective,he was quite satisfied with all aspects of thecall from an operational standpoint. As with the call of the Spirit of Adventure,the 600 passenger capacity Amadeaenjoyed 100% occupancy. Twelve coacheswere employed to take passengers onvarious shore excursions, eight in themorning and four in the afternoon. Eachcoach was accompanied by a multi-lingualcrew member. In the morning four coaches

26

14went on half day excursions taking in theRing of Béara and Kenmare. Two went onfull day excursions to Killarney andMuckross House and two others to Kinsale.In the afternoon four coaches tookpassengers to Bantry and Bantry House.Unfortunately, with the exception of thosewho went to Killarney where the visibilitywas somewhat better, passengers saw verylittle of the countryside scenery as fog andmisty rain continued to dominate theweather for almost the entire day.Consequently, they had very little basis onwhich to form an opinion on the merits ofthe call or the beauty of the countryside.However, there was a general feeling that,despite the weather, people had enjoyedthemselves. There was general praise forthe friendliness of the coach drivers andguides and Muckross House was a major hitwith those who went to Killarney. Kenmareproved to be very popular but free time of30 minutes was deemed to be too short.Bantry House was also much admiredalthough the view was also expressed thatit looked somewhat tired. As with the Spiritof Adventure in July, there was somecriticism of Castletownbere. There seemedto be a consensus that the town was notvery pretty and there was also criticism ofthe fact that very few shops were openbefore 10am. In addition, the public toiletswere not open when the coaches arrived inCastletownbere and only one of the twosupermarkets which were open had toiletfacilities. A small number of shopping bagswere in evidence as passengers alightedfrom the coaches although it was clear thatnot a lot of shopping had been undertaken.The inclement weather and the fact thatrelatively few passengers spoke Englishmilitated against obtaining detailedresponses. However, each crew memberaccompanying the passengers wasinterviewed and all confirmed that thepassengers had by and large enjoyedthemselves despite the miserable weather.

14. Conclusion and Recommendations

Despite challenging times in the travel andleisure sector and gloomy economicforecasts worldwide, the cruise industrycontinues to expand globally; passengernumbers are increasing and orders continueto be placed for new cruise ships. Irelandhas shared in that expansion, with cruiseship calls increasing year on year to themajor cruise ports and the Irish economybenefitting accordingly. Without anyprompting, quite a number of cruise lineshave come to recognise the attractivenessof Bantry Bay/Glengarriff as a cruisedestination and so there have been regularcruise ship calls, particularly over the past15/20 years. While acknowledging that theeconomic impact locally has not beendramatic, it has nevertheless beenworthwhile. Therefore, a concentratedeffort is merited to derive maximum benefitfrom opportunities presenting, both interms of revenue generated directly bycruise ship calls and by cruise passengersreturning to the area later on land basedholidays.

14.1 New Cruise InitiativeWith the assistance, guidance and input of Cork County Council, a neworganisation/company should be formed byport and tourism interests in Bantry,Glengarriff and Castletownbere to facilitate,promote and expand cruise tourism inBantry Bay and its hinterland. Arepresentative management/advisory boardshould be put in place and a cruisedirector/manager be appointed. It isessential that the energy and impetus comefrom the local area as local ownership ofthe project will be a key factor in itssuccess. However, to help give the projectleadership, direction and gravitas,representation from Fáilte Ireland and WestCork Partneship is highly desirable. Asuggested title might be “Cruise BantryBay”. The new body will be primarilymarketing orientated and should haverepresentation from organisations withresponsibility for the provision of vital cruisefacilities and/or services. Leading shore sideattractions, retailers, food and beverageproviders etc. should also be representedand each member should pay an annual

27

membership subscription fee. Provided it isphysically and commercially feasible to doso, it might be advantageous to locate thecruise director’s office in the offices ofBantry Bay Harbour Commissioners wherethere is ongoing interaction with shippingagents and cruise lines.

The following is a series ofrecommendations for Cruise Bantry Bay:

14.1.1 Appoint the cruise director/manager for a specific time frame e.g. 3/5 years and set and monitorrealistic targets for cruise calls. It is highlyunlikely that creating such a position willimmediately yield positive results –experience elsewhere has shown thatgrowth is likely to be slow and painstaking.One explanation for delays in achievingpositive results is that for advancemarketing reasons, cruise lines make cruiseitinerary planning decisions at least one yearin advance and increasingly two yearsbefore the calls materialise.

14.1.2 Develop and keep updated awebsite in keeping with the progressiveimage of the cruise industry and ensure ithas links to other key industry websites.Produce quality promotional material, bothelectronic and print. Employ modern e-marketing techniques, including e-brochuresand consider the merits of utilising socialnetworking websites e.g. facebook, twitter,linkedIn etc.

14.1.3 Familiarise itself with the cruise industry, differentiating between the different cruise lines, theirtarget markets and cruising areas. Developa data base of relevant cruise lines (i.e.those who have been or are likely to beattracted) together with a list of key cruiseline contacts. In the bigger cruise lines,separate contacts should ideally be soughtout in different departments e.g. itineraryplanning, marine/operations and shoreexcursions. Where possible, seek to fosterclose personal links with key industrydecision makers. Outline to them the rangeof cruise itinerary options, including themecruises, for which Bantry Bay is suitable.Advise them of successful cruise callsenjoyed by competitor cruise lines – bear in

mind there is a “me too” factor withincruise lines.

14.1.4 Be aware of cruise lines calling to other Irish and British ports, particularly those with ships calling toports on the south, south west and westcoasts of Ireland.

14.1.5 Armed with current promotional material and necessary technical knowledge, arrange direct salesvisits to the most likely cruise clients. Theinitial target list should include those cruiselines which have visited Bantry Bay or otherwest coast ports over the past decade.

14.1.6 Become a member of Cruise Ireland and participate with them in cruise trade shows e.g. CruiseShipping Miami, Seatrade Europe etc.

14.1.7 Seek guidance from the Port of Cork and investigate prospects of joint marketing initiatives onthe basis that such marketing activitieswould be complementary rather thancompetitive. Encourage the Port of Cork tosuggest to cruise lines and ground handlingagents that a greater number of their shoreexcursions should incorporate visits to WestCork. (There is already an establishedrelationship between the Port of Cork andBantry Bay Harbour Commissioners ascurrently the Port of Cork’s Harbour Masteris the designated Harbour Master for Bantry

28

Bay Harbour Commissioners. Furthermore,the Minister for Transport is expected tomake a decision early in 2012 on arecommendation of the High Level Reviewof State Commercial Ports that the ports ofCork and Bantry be merged onmanagement, environmental and safetygrounds).

14.1.8 Encourage Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland to arrange familiarisation trips for cruise executives andtrade media.

14.1.9 Maximise the PR potential of cruise calls before and after the ship’s visit. Publicise cruise achievementsand circulate advance lists of vessel arrivals.

14.1.10 Liaise on an ongoing basis with providers of services to visiting cruise ships e.g. ports, ground handlingagents and local retailers etc. Liaise withground handling agents to ensurecontinuous review of existing shoreexcursions with a view to freshening andexpanding them.

14.1.11 Arrange local workshops to advise all service providers and potential service providers of the highservice levels demanded by the cruise sector

14.1.12 Board visiting cruise ships, meet with the captain and senior officers and obtain their views on all aspectsof the call, operational and otherwise.

14.1.13 Ensure a warm welcome as passengers disembark from tenders on to the pier. This may take theform of a musical performance by a localband or a display of Irish dancing or simplya greeting by a local dignitary.

14.1.14 Consider erecting a passenger reception facility or mobile kiosk at the quayside wheredisembarking passengers can obtaininformation packs containing maps andgeneral tourist information, as well asspecifying the location of essential services.

14.1.15 Arrange for local shops, bars and restaurants to display

welcoming signs geared specifically to theindividual ship.

14.2 Port FacilitiesPort facilities and services at Glengarriff, Bantry Town Pier, Dinish Islandand Castletownbere should be kept underconstant review with a view toguaranteeing that each cruise ship ishandled in a safe, efficient manner. It isessential to improve the existing twopontoons at Glengarriff and to provide athird pontoon which will facilitatewheelchair access for cruise passengers.Assuming the upgrading of Bantry TownPier will be complete by the end of 2011,consideration should be given to enlargingthe coach parking area which is very limitedat present. Subject to interest beingdisplayed by cruise lines, provide fendering(temporary or permanent) at Dinish Pier inCastletownbere to facilitate the berthingalongside of cruise ships up to 100 metresin overall length. Similar to the situationpertaining at Bantry, on the assumption thatthe planned upgrading of port facilities atthe town side of Castletownbere Harbourwill proceed, including the installation of apontoon with wheelchair access, provisionwill need to be made for adequate coachparking. At all times port facilities shouldbe presented in a clean, tidy anduncluttered condition.

14.3 Shore ExcursionsIt is imperative to engage with ground handling agents to optimise theshore excursion options on offer,particularly as shore excursion revenue is afundamental component of cruise linerevenue. A vital element of a cruise line’sdecision to choose one destination aboveanother is its ability to offer shoreexcursions which will appeal to its targetmarket. Despite the two largest Irish ground handling agents being located in Dublin, allhandling agents should be encouraged to “buy into” the cruise initiative as they areinvariably quite influential with key cruise

line executives, due to their knowledge ofattractions in the different ports and theirexperience of the most popular andprofitable shore excursions.

29

15

30

14.4 FundingFunding for the cruise initiative and for infrastructural improvements is likely tobe raised from different sources. Fundingfor the cruise initiative may be sourced fromCruise Bantry Bay membership, FáilteIreland, West Cork Partnership and CorkCounty Council while consideration shouldalso be given to accessing EU funding. Inaddition to funding a 3/5 year contract forthe cruise director and rental of premises,there will be once off set up costs e.g.production of marketing material andsetting up of website. The annual budgetwill need to provide for regular visits tocruise lines, attendance at cruise fairs etc.

Responsibility for funding of port and cruisepassenger facilities will lie primarily with therespective port authorities; Bantry BayHarbour Commissioners in respect ofBantry, Cork County Council in respect ofGlengarriff and the Sea FisheriesAdministration Division of the Departmentof Agriculture, Food and Fisheries in respectof Castletownbere.

14.5 Test MarketingPrior to the formal setting up of the cruise initiative, it is recommended that atest marketing campaign be undertaken inspring 2012. This campaign will seek toobtain an initial cruise industry responsebefore committing financial and humanresources to the initiative. It will also assistin setting targets for cruise ship calls in theshort to medium term future.

15. Consultations

To better inform the outcome of this report,a number of consultations and meetingswere held with individuals/organisationsinvolved in the provision of services to thecruise industry and/or interested in thefuture development of the cruise sector inBantry Bay. Particularly noted is theconsiderable assistance provided by CaptainAlec O’Donovan, Assistant Harbour Master,Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners and Mr.Cormac McGinley, Harbour Master,Castletownbere Fishery Harbour.

Interviews were conducted with• Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners• Castletownbere Fishery Harbour • Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and

Food• Fáilte Ireland• West Cork Development

Partnership• Bantry Tanker Agency• Hamilton Shipping• Burke Shipping• Castletownbere Marine• Specialised Travel Services• Excursions Ireland• Waterford Cruise Development• Cronins Coaches• Galvins Coaches• Béara Tourism• Glengarriff Tourism

Emails were sent to the four cruise linesoriginally scheduled to have ship calls toGlengarriff in 2011. There was onerespondent, the German cruise line PhoenixReisen.