Businesses in Galway could benefit by €2 million from cruise passengers

From the Galway City Tribune – Businesses in Galway City could benefit to the tune of almost €2 million over the course of the summer months from passengers aboard cruise ships due to anchor off the bay.

A total of 22 cruise ships will arrive in Galway between May and the end of September and it is expected that those on board will provide a much needed boost for the local economy. Two of those will pay a visit to the Aran Islands as well.

Some of the ships will have up to 1,000 passengers on board – one of the bigger ships Nautica, which will have around 2,000 passengers on board, will visit Galway in the summer of 2024 and this is bound to be an attraction in itself.

The first cruise ship arrived off Galway Bay in the past fortnight and resulted in some 800 passengers being ferried into the city for the day.

They were transported by Glór na Farraige from Aran Island Ferries, which actually started operating its tourist service from Ros a’ Mhíl to the islands much earlier than normal due to the demand.

It was the first cruise ship to arrive off Galway Bay since the pandemic and the estimated 800 passengers who were transported into the Port of Galway provided something of an unexpected spending splurge.

Harbour Master Captain Brian Sheridan said that it was almost nostalgic to witness the return of the first cruise ship of the year and greeting the enthusiastic passengers who got off in the city.

Some of them went on day trips to Kylemore Abbey and Connemara which generated much needed income for some of the local bus companies.

It is estimated that cruise passengers spend, on average, €100 per person in the city alone which is worth almost €2 million for the local retail trade.

The first ship, Borealis, had set out from Liverpool with 1,400 passengers and 800 crew. She sailed to Cobh, stopped off in Galway Bay and went on to Belfast and then south to some warmer climes.

Capt Sheridan explained that, for the moment, the cruise ships are not taking in the Baltic Sea or some parts of the Mediterranean Sea because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Still, it is great to have them back and we will have a busy schedule over the coming months, which is a vital part of the port’s activity,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Capt Sheridan is looking forward to the first phase of the port development which involves almost 70 acres of land being reclaimed from the sea to extend the harbour. It is part of a €126 million expansion.

Last year, a vision for the regeneration of the dockland area of the city, involving the creation of a new “urban quarter” adjacent to the city centre, was set out by the Galway Harbour Company.

(Photo by Joe O’Shaughnessy. The Borealis docked in Galway Bay off Salthill earlier this month).