Frew delighted to see cruise liners docking locally

Paul Frew DUP MLA for North Antrim has asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the number of cruise liners that have docked in the Bay of Ballycastle or any other bay along the North Coast in each of the last four years and also to provide details of the cruise liners that docked and what plans are in place to increase the number of cruise liners visiting the North Antrim coast.

Mr Frew said: “It’s very important we use the North Coast and indeed the tourist potential we do have in order to get as many tourists here as possible, not only to visit Belfast but also the whole of Northern Ireland and especially North Antrim and view the great sites we have.

“It’s great to know the cruise ships are steadily increasing in the North Coast and it’s important we are able to attract large cruise liners like the Silver Cloud which docked in Ballycastle Harbour on September 3 of this year.

“There were 250 passengers on that cruise liner and it’s good to know in the last four years that has been the largest to visit the North Coast, so it’s good to know we are attracting bigger passenger number cruise liners to the North Coast.

“That must continue and we must do everything in our power to create that and make that happen. “There has been a number of cruise liners at Portrush Harbour now over the last four years and it’s good to see the numbers steadily increasing.”