Titanic draw:A record 40 cruise ships are expected to call at Belfast Harbour this year, drawn by the lure of the new Titanic Belfast centre according to the port's latest performance review.
Belfast Harbour was one of the most significant financial backers of the tourist project, donating £13.6 million to the visitor attraction. The increase in potential visitors to the city as a result of the opening of Titanic Belfast is expected to boost the port’s overall passenger numbers this year.
New figures for 2011 show passenger numbers last year were static at 1.3 million people, with 32 cruise ship calls bringing a total of 58,000 passengers and crews to the city.
Belfast Harbour’s latest annual report shows that despite the continued slump in the local economy, the port handled record levels of tonnages during 2011 – up 7 per cent to 17.6 million tonnes.
This translated into a 4 per cent increase in turnover for Belfast Harbour to £36.1 million for 2011 and a modest 2 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £17.8 million.
