The average spend of cruise passengers visiting British ports increased by more than 10% last year.
New figures also show a 10% growth in passenger embarkations in 2013, compared to 2012, and a 20% year-on-year increase in day calls which reached 866,000 last year.
The average cruise passenger visiting a British port spent an average of £100 during their visit, a year-on-year increase of 10%. With the average cruise ship now carrying 2,000 passengers, cruise ships are bringing in some €200,000 per visit.
Passenger spend is part of the overall cruise line spend in the UK which accounted for more than €3 billion in 2013. This includes passenger and crew expenditure, cruise line purchases, ship repair and employee remuneration.
Daren Taylor, chairman of CruiseBritain, said: “Cruise tourism is a valuable source of income to ports and destinations across Britain and is increasingly being factored into local and regional tourism.
“The vessels that can be accommodated range from small ships carrying a handful of passengers through to boutique ships and then up to the largest ships deployed in Europe.
“This wide range gives an opportunity for all ports, including those without major facilities and infrastructure, to benefit from the growing popularity of cruising to and around Britain. The figures for day calls at British ports are increasing steadily and have nearly quadrupled over the last 10 years.”