Southampton Cruise Business Booming

25 June 2013, 09:05 | Updated: 25 June 2013, 13:32

Figures out show 1.5 million people passed through Southampton last year, making it Europe's busiest turnaround port.

Each ship that comes into the port is thought to be worth around £2.5 million to the city's economy and it's good news for employment too; the industry supports more than 11,000 jobs across south east England.

The figures, from the Cruise Lines International Association show spending on cruises in the U.K. last year rose 3.7% to £2.49 billion, and the industry's contribution to the economies of Europe was also up in 2012 - rising 3.4% to £13.15 billion.

Britons took more than 1.7 million cruise holidays last year, with the UK staying Europe's biggest cruise market with a total share of 27.7%.

CLIA UK and Ireland director Andy Harmer said: "These figures demonstrate the continued and growing strength of the British cruise market."