Seventy nine liners and 110,000 passengers will have docked in the town this year with the final arrival, the Regal Princess, on Monday, September 30. Councillor Stephen McCabe believes the luxury boats bring a financial benefit to both Greenock and Inverclyde but says the council should have the powers to impose a levy similar to other European ports such as Barcelona. The Labour politician wants the money reinvested to attract the high spending tourist passengers into the town and surrounding area.
At present many prefer to take organised and pre booked trips to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, the Trossachs and Loch Lomond. The Scottish Government is carrying out a country wide consultation to canvas the views of councillors, businesses and local people on a cruise ship levy. Legislation, if introduced, would give local authorities the power to impose a charge on each passenger.
An early discussion with stakeholders took place in private in Greenock on Tuesday, October 1 which Mr McCabe said had planned to attend. Plans for a cruise ship levy also has the backing of the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). Mr McCabe is a big supporter of the cruise ships but says more needs to be done to tempt passengers into Inverclyde to spend money.
He added: "You are competing with the companies who are providing excursions for passengers. "For example, a Disney ship recently put on a special train to Edinburgh. "You will also get people who want to leave Inverclyde and go.