The growing number of people looking to cruise Wales as well as other UK ports could well see Wales emulating top European ports which are destinations for the big leisure cruise market. This is the conclusion of a report by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee of legislators in the House of Commons, the British Parliament. The report points to massive growth in the UK cruise market over the last decade or so, and points to an urgent need to secure a slice of this growth so as to strengthen the economies of Welsh port communities.

If you are an enthusiastic cruise traveller just be aware that before you make early bookings to cruise Wales there is currently some difficulty with offering suitable facilities for berthing at some Welsh ports, where the infrastructure needs to be upgraded to cater for the fast growing fleet of big ships cruising European waters. “Celtic Wave” is a campaign led by Anglesey with a budget of around $2m and covering Irish and Welsh ports, which aims to attract more cruise ship visitors to these ports and their economic hinterlands.

The UK government has been asked by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide offer more funds for extra infrastructure investment so ports such as Holyhead on Anglesey and Swansea can raise standards to a level expected by the cruise line companies. According to the conclusions of the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee report, there is a significant opportunity to strengthen local port economies along with their regions, which would gain as it becomes easier for visitors to cruise Wales as part of their UK cruising experience.

Over the longer term the prospects are for Welsh ports to emulate the success enjoyed by Baltic ports where there is an established and popular cruise market. From Holyhead in north west Wales via Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire and Swansea to Newport, Welsh ports can act as engines of economic regeneration when they encourage travellers to cruise Wales. In the summer of 2009 the first cruise ship visited Newport, and nearby is the Celtic Manor where the Ryder Cup will be held in 2010. Cruise passengers from Newport were able to visit the Millennium Centre, Cardiff Castle and other attractions in nearby Cardiff.

Likewise on arrival at Holyhead Port on Anglesey, cruise visitors can see some great sites such as the UN World Heritage Castles of Wales at Beaumaris and Caernarfon, Wales’s only working windmill at Llynnon, Llanddeusant, and South Stack Lighthouse near Holyhead. And you cannot forget the 125- mile long island coastal path set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the remarkable Oriel Art Gallery and Seawatch centre at Moelfre.

The Welsh Assembly Government is offering financial support to strengthen the facilities for the expected rise in cruise ship visits to Holyhead, most notably to strengthen the jetty used by Anglesey Aluminium Metals (AAM), which offers an ideal anchorage and a perfect disembarkation berth for cruise ship passengers. When finished this improvement will mean this Holyhead Port outer harbour pier will be strong enough to take huge ships like the Westerdam, a 2,000 passengers carrying, 285 metre liner.

The future outlook looks very promising for potential UK cruise visitors planning to cruise Wales as part of their overall UK travel plans, and certainly Holyhead port will be ready to receive them as warmly as ever, as they embark upon their visits to the various sites of interest on and off the island.

Coming from the beautiful island of Anglesey Wales in the UK, the author, David Phillips, manages a helpful online resource covering local news and information. Find out more about organising to cruise Wales here to help make your vacation more pleasurable.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:18 am and is filed under Vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.