This year the Port of Dublin will receive around 160 cruise ship calls, many of which are turnarounds, meaning they finish one cruise and start another, so the flow of tourists through the city is greater and their spending is also greater.
In an unprecedented move, the Port of Dublin has unilaterally decided to limit cruise ship calls to two per week and eliminate turnarounds, starting in 2021. This would leave the city with approximately 80 calls per year. The reasons for this surprising decision are not environmental or related to overtourism; rather, the port argues that it needs the docks for cargo ships, as activity has increased by a third since 2012.
Niamh McCarthy, managing director of Excursions Ireland and one of the founders of Cruise Ireland, said she was aware of the decision but hadn't anticipated it would be so drastic. “The fact that they are restricting port calls to two large ships per week and with no turnarounds is unbelievable for anyone involved in the industry,” she said, noting that it will have significant repercussions for the tourism sector.
In fact, Fergal Barton, owner of Bartons Transport, which services 150 ships between May and October in Dublin, says that bus companies, tour guides, tourist destinations, and tourist attractions will all be affected. “On a good day, there can be between 100 and 120 people working to service the cruise ships, in addition to the people who work in the shops that cater to those visitors.”.
To accommodate more cruise ships in the future, the Port of Dublin says new docks must be built, and that cruise lines should co-finance them. Niamh McCarthy acknowledges that these new docks require a significant investment and that the Port of Dublin would be unlikely to recoup it. Therefore, the cruise lines association CLIA has urged the Irish government and the Port of Dublin to work with them on a long-term strategy for the sustainability of cruise tourism.
