27.01.03      
£2.2 million for South West businesses from cruise ships

Businesses across the South West are being given the opportunity to find out how they can get a share of the £2.2m which will be spent in the region over the next three years from cruise ship passengers and crew members and about the important role played by the Cruise Industry in Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly.

Destination Southwest is organising a series of seminars across the region in the Isles of Scilly, Penzance, Falmouth, Fowey, Plymouth, Dartmouth and Torbay from 10th to 20th March. These seminars are open to all businesses which service the 21,000 cruise passengers who visited these ports last year. Participants will be given the opportunity to learn more about this important industry and how it contributes to the local economy. They will also find out more about the expectations of passengers both on board ship and ashore and gain a better understanding of different nationalities.

The aim of Destination Southwest is to promote and raise the profile of England’s Atlantic Seaboard within the cruise industry. It is a partnership of both the public and private sectors and it includes eight individual ports throughout the region.

Destination South West is funded across Cornwall and Devon by the Objective One and Objective Two Programmes.

Director of Cruise Operations for the project, Bob Harrison, said: “In 2002, we saw more than 70 cruise ships visit the region with an average of 300 passengers per ship spending £50 per head and many local businesses benefit greatly from these visits. The idea of these seminars is to raise awareness amongst the local business community of the importance of this sector and how they stand to gain from it.”

Bob went on to say: “It is also important to realise that these are high spending visitors with high expectations. The warmth of welcome and the levels of customer service they experience while in port can greatly influence their desire to return in the future either as a cruise passenger or an independent visitor.”

Chairman of Destination Southwest Mike Sutherland added: “Globally the cruise industry is growing at a rate of 8% and we need to ensure that the ports of the South West benefit from this growth. Currently the region stands to gain £2.2m of additional revenue from cruise ship visits over the next three years.”

Funding for these seminars has been provided by the Tourism Skills Network, Marine South West and Trade Partners UK. Anyone wishing to participate should contact Rosie Inge at Churton Inge Associates on 01749 670070.

Editor's notes:

Destination South West is a partnership of the public and private sectors including the ports of Isles of Scilly, Penzance, Falmouth, Fowey, Plymouth, Dartmouth, Torbay and Ilfracombe. It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Objective One and Two Programmes. It also receives funding through the South West Regional Development Agency.

For further information please contact Teresa Timms at Cornwall Enterprise on 01872 322907 or 07968 515532, or Bob Harrison at Destination South West on 01803 771136 or 07974 950990.

Jason Clark
Communications Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388

jason@dclark.co.uk

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