The first cruise ship to arrive in Belfast this year has marked the start of a busy year for the industry and the return of a key tourism revenue stream for the city.
The Viking Venus was due to draw alongside the cruise terminal today (Friday) carrying some 900 passengers and the first of 130 ships scheduled to call this year. Built only last year, the ship is travelling from London to Bergen, Norway, stopping off at a number of English, Irish and Scottish ports on the way.
Although slightly down on the 146 ships which visited Belfast in 2019, the more healthy schedule is a welcome return for a sector which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. During 2020, lockdown restrictions brought the sector to a halt while in 2021 a total of 72 ships visited the city.
