As ships docking in Liverpool (England UK) return to pre-COVID capacity, tourism numbers are on the up and 100+ operations are expected into Liverpool Cruise Terminal during 2022, the busiest season to date.
With 200,000+ passengers due contributing to the visitor economy, an impact of~GBP 15 million is expected to benefit the port city this year. A further GBP 16 million is being forecast for 2023, with a total of 109 cruise calls planned for 2023.
A report to the culture and visitor economy committee of the local authority said that GBP 2.25 million was generated through Fred Olsen Cruise Lines annually alone, with the company operating on the Mersey for almost 2 decades. The report added that the Suffolk-headquartered line had continued to commit 30 operations annually into Liverpool UK and had made reservations as far in advance as December 2024.
“Current cruise bookings show 109 cruise operations are scheduled for 2023. There is still some post-pandemic re-positioning globally and re-positioning from the Baltic, so some bookings are relatively recent, and this figure may increase. This is expected to generate £16m of economic impact from cruise tourism.”
It was estimated that the cruise industry will take a further “one to two years” to fully recover.
Given the impact of the COVID crisis, the council is assessing timescales and the likelihood of market growth for taking the scheme forward to the next stage but remains committed to developing the Terminal to support growth.
It is expected a further GBP 1.2 million to be generated at the terminal from berthing fees, with an economic impact of ~GBP 14 million. Significant strides are being made in order to identify other sources of income like working ships at the cruise terminal.
Through additional calls from working ships and the Royal Navy, Liverpool Cruise Terminal is due to generate ~GBP 80,000 income from the non-cruise business.”