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Displaying items by tag: MV Ocean Nova

Cruise Ireland, the marketing group promoting Ireland as a cruise destination; has announced that the overall economic contribution of the cruise business is estimated to be worth €60 million to the island of Ireland. On average there are over 200 cruise calls to Ireland per year carrying approximately half a million passengers and crew.

There are many indirect economic and tourism benefits to Ireland from this sector, as well as the benefit of introducing Ireland to new markets and business opportunities. Such cruise visits also help to showcase Ireland's world class shore products, destinations and highlights all that Ireland has to offer visitors.

One of Ireland's advantages is the strategic and geographic spread of its numerous ports, many of which are in close proximity to world class tourism destinations.

Speaking at Seatrade Miami this week, the Chairman of Cruise Ireland, Mr Brendan Keating said "Cruise Ireland aims to promote the island of Ireland as an excellent cruising ground for cruise companies. With the total economic contribution of €60 million, we need to ensure that Ireland maintains this level of business and looks at methods of growing it in the future."

He continued; "Cruise Ireland is looking forward to the 2011 season with confidence. We expect to see further growth in ship calls and the continued establishment of Ireland as an important cruise liner destination. Marketing Cruise Ireland at Seatrade will hopefully encourage further cruise bookings to Ireland in 2012 and 2013."

Representatives from Cruise Ireland attended Seatrade Miami to promote the Island of Ireland as a cruise line tourism destination. This event is attended by over 10,000 delegates, cruise line operators, the world's leading cruise tourism destinations and 118 countries.

Each year, all of the international operators including Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Holland America Line and NCL visit Irish ports to access Ireland's world class destinations.

The 2011 season will kick off in early April with calls by the MV Queen Victoria to Cork, the MV Boudicca to Dublin and the MV Ocean Nova to Belfast

Published in Cruise Liners

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.