Scotland's future as a destination for cruise passengers may be under threat because of stricter checks by the UK Border Force, the industry has warned.
While predicting record-breaking passenger numbers this summer, Richard Alexander, chairman of marketing organisation Cruise Scotland, added this could be a "crunch year" for the business.
"The continuing growth for UK cruise ports is under potential threat from stricter interpretation of checks by the UK Border Force since last summer on passengers – including EU residents – arriving from foreign ports," he warned. A crackdown could act as a deterrent to ships calling at UK ports in the future.
It is feared the new checks may overshadow the growing success of Scotland as a destination for cruises. This year there are 463 cruise ships scheduled to dock in Scotland, which is three down on last year, but the use of larger ships may see passenger numbers rise to an estimated 407,425, up from last year's figure of 350,745 and more than 50% up on 2010.
Last year's visitors were estimated to have been worth about £41 million to the Scottish economy, but Cruise Scotland believes the future is more uncertain.
In the past, passenger manifests were checked in advance via agents, but the UK Border Force will now be looking at carrying out face-to-face checks with passengers, which will cause delays to schedules and greater costs for the operators.
"With the situation overshadowing success to date and optimism for the future at a time when our members are reporting encouraging bookings for 2014, we and others are continuing to lobby to have the situation resolved through a risk-based approach to checks," said Mr Alexander.
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