Cruise Development

Cruise business development in 2024

Work continues through ongoing conversations with operators of both big and small ships to not only retain the ships we have, but also reach out to new business. Alongside this engagement work, we have been working with excursion agents to better tailor what the Island offers with what those visiting on cruise ships want to do, encouraging smaller, more bespoke experiences.

View the Cruise & Itinerary Planning 2024 edition with Guernsey advert, featured port, and destination highlights.

This year, we will remain members of CruiseBritain and will be showcasing the Islands of Guernsey at Seatrade Global.

The following is ongoing this year:

Regular contact with cruise executives for feedback and to discuss future itineraries.
Organising plaque presentations for inaugural visits through handling agents.
Providing hospitality desks.
Research remains ongoing, as we continue to reach out to new potential cruise companies, specifically in the niche and luxury markets.
Regular communication with UK-based Excursion agents.
Press releases to cruise trade on returning to cruising, new tours and award wins.
Submitting news to the CruiseBritain early e-shots which goes to their full contact list of cruise executives.
Quarterly emailer to database of cruise contacts.
Proactive social media plan – tagging in liners.
Business development research for cruise executives introducing them to new contacts for their itinerary programme.
Keeping on top of trends and reaching out to the local industry for feedback and support.
Dedicated meetings with cruise representatives in Southampton.
Reviewing port guides and providing destination content.

Look back to 2023

62 cruise ships visited our islands in 2023, with nearly 80,000 passengers landing. We’re very proud of our high average landing rate of 82%, and if you watch our recent video with our cruise passengers, you’ll soon understand why passengers are keen to explore our islands.

In 2023, for the first time, we secured a familiarisation visit in April for cruise company representatives which we specifically targeted in 2022, identified as those we want to visit the islands more frequently or programme us for the first time. This visit was a direct result of our business development and we are delighted these companies are engaging so positively with us. Read more about what the cruise representatives did on their visit here.

In September, we welcomed a representative from Excursions Ltd to update their product knowledge, visit attractions and try out new tour ideas. The visit incorporated island hopping to Herm, Sark & Alderney.

We also organised new tours and business development ideas for the shore excursion manager of a luxury cruise company who are keen to broaden their offering to clients.

Targeted advertising:

In 2023, we ran a campaign with Cruise & Ferry review, a trade-focused, twice-yearly magazine both printed and online. We also featured in their annual publication called Cruise & Ferry Itinerary planning with both brand and content marketing. It is the only magazine in the whole industry dedicated to itinerary planners. View the advert here

Events attended in 2023:

We attended three CruiseBritain events – the Spring members meeting, the Summer meeting and ship visit - Regal Princess, Portland and the Winter networking event.
The islands of Guernsey were showcased at Seatrade Global, the world’s largest annual cruise industry gathering of international cruise leaders. You can read more about this event here. Our attendance at Seatrade Global resulted in 12 confirmed meetings with cruise representatives and a further 6 meetings secured at the event. In total, meetings were held with sixteen different cruise brands.

Ongoing Cruise press coverage

As part of VisitGuernsey’s visiting journalist programme, cruise-based trips continue to generate great coverage:

Cruise Mailers

New in 2023, we sent out dedicated cruise-related mailers to our cruise database. This mailer keeps them all up to date with the latest information. You can read the mailers below:

Cruise update - May 2023

Cruise update - August 2023

Cruise update - November 2023

New Cruise Stamps

Guernsey Post have issued a series of six new cruise stamps. We worked with Guernsey Post on obtaining permission from the cruise lines for their ships to be used in the illustrations and were very pleased when all six agreed. These special stamps are now available from the Post and Go kiosks - one is available at the Guernsey Information Centre.

We are sure that they will be popular with cruise ship visitors who arrive in Guernsey during 2023.