This May bank holiday weekend will be a busy one for the Port of Cork with two large cruise liners visiting Cobh, bringing over 10,000 passengers and crew to the region. MV Emerald Princess will arrive on Saturday at 10am and depart at 7pm, while MV Independence of the Seas, an annual visitor to the port, will arrive on Sunday at 3pm and depart on Monday at 6pm.
Aside from the predominantly UK and American passengers, MV Independence of the Seas will also have up to 900 delegates from the fuel industry in Brazil on board. These passengers are being rewarded for their business with a high end incentive trip which includes a visit to Cork. The group, which is being co-ordinated by Kuoni Destination Management Company will experience Cork over a day and a half and is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the region of Cork, voted one of the top ten European destinations to visit in 2011 by Yahoo Search Engine.
Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) has been working with Kuoni on an impressive itinerary for the Brazilians and CCB ensure they will experience the best of the region including a visit to the coastal town of Kinsale, the Queenstown Heritage Centre in Cobh, a visit to the Jameson Distillery in Midleton and the obligatory kissing of the Blarney Stone. Two hours of free time in Cork’s city centre will allow the group to browse the chic boutiques and have lunch at many of Cork’s great restaurants tasting local artisan produce.
According to Evelyn O’Sullivan, Business Tourism Manager CCB: ‘This visit is worth an estimated €200,000 to the Cork region. Cork is at its peak right now and international event organisers looking for new destinations are very impressed with the product offering. Cork is unique in having the facilities to welcome incentive groups arriving on cruise liners. (Cork Convention Bureau is an initiative supported by Cork City and County Councils, Cork Airport, Cork Chamber, Failte Ireland and the hotel federation Cork.)”.
Commenting on the delegate visit to Cork, Captain Michael McCarthy Port of Cork said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Cork to leave a very positive welcoming experience for the 900 visitors. It is very encouraging to see commercial companies using the cruise liner business as a method of visiting the region. Statistics available from the cruise lines indicate that 30% of cruise passengers make a return visit to a region they visited on their cruise itinerary. This would be excellent for Cork if some or all of these delegates return in the future with their family or friends or indeed looked at future business opportunities.”
He continued: “The Port of Cork has been involved for the last 3 years with Spanish, French and Portuguese Ports in developing the European Atlantic Area as a premier cruise destination. This work under an EU Initiative “Cruise Atlantic Europe” is aimed at developing the historic links between these countries and the Latin nations in South America, particularly Brazil to encourage them to visit this region.”
http://www.corkharbour.ie/pages/newsDisplay.php?id=182
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