A wave of cruise speculation

The return of cruise to our shores in Orkney seems to have created a wave of speculation among some small pockets of our community and even further afield.

While there are many in the county who welcome the industry’s resumption and the benefits that it brings, we acknowledge that there are others who do not wish to see liners calling into Orkney at all, or, at least, not in the numbers which are anticipated in 2022.

At present, there are 196 liners booked to call into Orkney spread between January to October (up from 163 in 2019)  and also across our ports and islands – 31 of these calls are at Kirkwall anchorage with only one day having two callers there. The average passenger maximum capacity is about 1200.

The larger liners calling into Orkney make up a very small percentage of the overall numbers – just over ten per cent and we do endeavour to keep double bookings to an absolute minimum. We do not want to stretch our infrastructure and we do not want anyone – cruise passengers or independent travellers to have anything other than a first-class experience while here.

This growth has not happened overnight, and we firmly believe we have the infrastructure in place to deal with the numbers and are in a strong position to manage this sustainably for all.

We continue our efforts to extend the tourist season into the shoulder months and this is working.

Tourism - whether cruise or independent travellers - is central to the local economy in Orkney and a vital source of employment throughout the islands.

For some, such as Orkney, the cruise market is growing and the increases in cruise visitor numbers brings economic benefits and opportunities, but also challenges in ensuring this is done in a managed way.

Social impacts are greatest where the cruise tourism brings economic benefits that would not otherwise have been derived, building and retaining wealth in the local community. For rural areas, these economic and social benefits are very closely linked, and indeed given the nature of more remote rural communities it can be difficult to separate the two as income generated by tourism helps to support livelihoods, retain people in an area and sustain services.

The cruise ecosystem is complex, with a multitude of relationships and interdependencies, supporting each other from visitor attractions, activity providers, local destination or tourism groups, local businesses, ground handlers, port authorities and shipping agents.

We cannot and have not ignored the concerns which have been raised globally about the environmental impact that increasing numbers, particularly the larger liners, may have. The cruise industry is trending towards cleaner vessels with new fleets coming online fuelled by transitional fuels such as LNG. It is the same as new bus fleets being the most economical and environmental for the investment now. This is not an instant carbon free switch but a strategy that plans towards that goal.  Some time ago the Council joined organisations around the world in declaring a climate emergency. The declaration was agreed as a means of both reaffirming the Council's existing commitment to a vibrant carbon neutral economy, and publicly expressing concern about climate change. So, we remain entirely committed, but this has to work hand in hand with a vibrant economy and tourism to Orkney is a significant factor in that. We are confident that we can achieve both, but we know there remains much work to be done.

Myth busting

There is a myth being circulated that cruise passengers do not spend money while in the county – we can assure you that is not the case – and a number of our local shop owners, businesses and tour guides have confirmed this.

We understand the figure to be in the region of £30 per passenger on average -  60% is spent in local shops. This is based on 90% of visitors making at least 1 purchase.

One local business owner with a presence on Kirkwall’s main thoroughfare said he was increasingly frustrated by the negativity and incorrect generalisations relating to cruise in the county.

He said: “I talk to fellow businesses and there are many who enjoy an additional income thanks to the cruise passengers. To say they do not spend money while in Orkney is just simply nonsense. I would like to know where this information is coming from as I certainly haven’t been asked.

“I can say that my takings were down 20-40 per cent during July and August with the lack of cruise passengers and those are my busiest months and the ones I rely on to carry us through the quieter times.”

The businessman said he strongly believes that Kirkwall’s main street is as vibrant as it is today because of the healthy tourism industry – and a major player in that is cruise.

“A lot of folk in Orkney don’t appreciate the high street that we have – many other towns, especially after Covid, are dying. Orkney is full of little independent shops that people want to visit.”

This was backed up by another town centre shop owner, who added: “At the end of the day we have a pretty healthy town centre in Orkney – look at other areas – their shops are boarded up and this also leads to local folk staying away. We need visitors, both cruise and independent travellers, to come to Orkney. We rely heavily on tourism and this has got to be a big part of how we move forward and recover.

“We, the shop owners and businesses, also have a responsibility to ensure all visitors have a great experience while here. I trust the powers that be – the Council, the tourist industry and environment agencies to look after the organisation of it and how it is managed. People who are negative need to look at the broader benefit to Orkney as a whole.”

There has also been a shift away from passengers on mainstream cruise voyages booking guided tours and itineraries to planning a more independent visit at destinations. Up to 60% of passengers may organise and book their own itineraries, in part driven by a demand for a more personalised experience and a younger passenger demographic.

Many cruise passengers use the trip as a “taster” to determine how long they may need to be here for a future holiday under their own steam.

This was confirmed by a tour guide in Orkney who said she and others worked hard to sell Orkney as a longer-term destination to cruise passengers: “There are a good number of cruise passengers who return to Orkney for longer after spending a day here. As tour guides we work hard to sell Orkney as more than a day trip.

“I am always disappointed when I hear folk claiming cruise passengers don’t spend in Orkney. When we take guests on tour they spend at all the sites which employ local people and they always buy lunch. They especially love Orkney jewellery and whisky. All of these businesses including ourselves spend our money earned locally.

“One outcome of having a very reduced income has meant I have not been able to support local shops as much as I would normally. It is not just the direct spend of cruise ship passengers in shops that affects Orkney’s wider income. Our tours are not just cruise ships but the loss of income from them has hit us hard and we look forward to welcoming guests from cruise ships again in 2022.”

Over and above the spending by passengers and crews, there is a considerable income stream in harbour dues which is paid into the Council’s Miscellaneous Piers and Harbours Account and which has to, by law, be transferred to a specific Repairs and Maintenance Budget to help pay for the upkeep of Orkney’s 29 council-owned piers and harbours. However, by using the money for this there is a knock-on benefit in that it means we do not have to use our General Capital Grant on piers and harbours so it can be spent on other capital works, such as roads.

Independent visitors

The split between independent and cruise visitors to Orkney is fairly even.

In 2019, the most recent ‘normal’ year, a Visitor Survey showed that 91 per cent of leisure visitors rated their satisfaction with their trip to Orkney with a score of eight, nine or ten out of ten — 51 per cent gave a perfect ten out of ten score. As already said, there were  163 cruise liner calls into Orkney that year – far from taking away from an independent traveller’s experience coming to Orkney, perhaps the buzz generated by cruise even adds to the quality of stay.

Councillor Graham Sinclair, Chair of Orkney Islands Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, said of the 2019 survey: “This was the fourth extensive annual visitor study that the Council had commissioned since 2009 and we were delighted to see that Orkney’s popularity continued to attract an ever-increasing number of visitors to our islands.
“Particularly pleasing to note was the significantly increased contribution that visitors made to the local economy in 2019, and the continuing very positive visitor feedback across all aspects of the visitor experience.

“The report confirms that the council’s historic investment in the sector and the continuing development and promotion of the destination, along with our industry partners, is bearing fruit.

“The impact of Covid-19 on the sector and its supply chains was of course devastating, but we are determined to work even harder now, and in the future, to try to recover some of the losses sustained this year and to rebuild the industry.”

A part to play at Orkney’s historic sites

Gillian MacDonald, Head of Sales and Marketing at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “We monitor footfall closely with digital monitors at a number of our sites and carefully control access to some of the footpaths such as Ring of Brodgar where our Rangers adjust access to cope with visitor numbers and weather conditions. We also record and analyse the interior environmental conditions inside some of our monuments to assess visitor impact.

“We have also reinforced infrastructure at sites such as Ring of Brodgar where we have improved footpaths to protect the underlying archaeology.

“Access to our ticketed sites is by timed ticketing slots and this is developed to manage visitor numbers and protect our sites. We also work closely with the ground handlers who coordinate the scheduled tours from cruises to ensure that they book via our Group Sales system. This allows us to manage the capacity by limiting the number of groups per time or day.”

Harbours Masterplan and cruise

The Council has a Harbours Masterplan document, which sets out the future for our harbour and pier operations and the steps we believe we need to take to get us there with a central narrative of the decarbonisation of the sector.

Having the masterplan document in place will now enable the council to react quickly and appropriately to opportunity, whilst at the same time acting as a showcase of our current marine offering to outside interests. This is a normal and recognised activity for ports across the UK to have in place, and essential for Orkney to ensure that we can continue to compete with other ports to secure business for Orkney.

More importantly, it will enable the Council to plan for the continuing success of the harbour as a net contributor to both the Council’s finances and local economy as markets change and oil dependency reduces.

The masterplan covers all areas of our harbour operations with a main focus on Scapa Flow and offshore developments. Cruise, which is already well developed and serviced is not a significant feature within the masterplan with regards to facilities but the future carbon free bunkering facilities that the Masterplan will provide are absolutely essential to a greener future for all shipping including cruise. It’s a long term, strategic plan for our piers and harbours looking not only at core infrastructure to sustain imports, future internal ferry services, renewables projects and commerce - but also the continued prosperity of marine activity in Orkney for the next 40 years or more.