Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has warmly welcomed the initiative by the City Council’s tourism unit (TEAM) that it is in the process of establishing a Cruise Ambassador Programme on a pilot basis and will be working with external stakeholders i.e Port of Cork, Cork City Council City Centre Co-ordinator, CBA, Iarnród Éireann, Cork, and Visit Cork. It is anticipated that the cruise ambassadors will service more than 65 cruise liners, which are due to visit Cork during the 2017 season. The cruise Ambassadors will embark the ship on its arrival into port and interact with the passengers on board who are not already booked on the ship’s organised tours. Each Ambassador will provide a warm welcome to Cork and distribute necessary information such as maps, tourism information leaflets, and advise on all that Cork City has to offer the cruise visitor to enhance their visit.
Cllr McCarthy noted; “it is important that the city showcases its positive and scenic assets. Through giving tours of the city, tourists always enjoy exploring Cork’s ancient port city history; we have a great story to tell to visitors; the fact that over 60 per cent of people will arrive on one of the 65 cruise liners this summer with no pre-booked plan, there is a huge opportunity for stake-holders to come together to create a sustainable package to bring a large percentage of undecided cruise liner visitors from the harbour to the city”.