Maritime passengers arriving at Irish ports saw a 2.1% increase to 2.8 million from 2016 to 2017.

That’s according to the Department of Transport’s latest Transport Trends report published earlier this week, which highlights the increasing importance of the cruise liner sector in Irish maritime activity.

Cruise passenger numbers have more than doubled in the last decade to a total of 264,763 in 2017 — itself a 19% rise on the previous year.

Cruise liner visits, meanwhile, grew by 12% between 2016 and last year, when 234 cruise calls were recorded.

While Dublin Port and Cork dominate the cruise liner market, hosting more than four-fifths of ship visits between them, Bantry Bay and Galway are also moving in on this increasingly lucrative business — and Killybegs in Donegal welcomed more than 7,000 passengers from 12 ships in 2017.

There was bad news, however, for Waterford and Dun Laoghaire — the latter of which saw cruise passenger visits more than halve between 2016 and 2017 despite welcoming only one fewer liner.

The full Transport Trends 2018 report contains more details on the cruise liner sector as well as positive trends in shipping and trade, the impact of Brexit and more, and is available to read or download HERE.