Germans cruise into warm welcome from Destination South West

The South West is proving popular with the German tourism market this week as the luxury cruise liner the MV Deutschland enjoys a warm welcome in three of the region’s ports following a campaign by Destination South West to promote the area to the cruise liner industry. The Deutschland which had 448 passengers on board docked at Portland yesterday (14.9.10), is currently in Falmouth (16.9.10) and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow at St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles (17.9.10). The Deutschland has called in the South West for many years to Destination South West Ports and she is the first cruise ship to call at 3 ports in the region within the same cruise itinerary. Destination South West (DSW), is a partnership of 12 ports and 17 other attractions, local authorities and cruise tourism suppliers in the South West of England which has been working hard to promote the region to the cruise industry and in this case, Peter Deilmann, the cruise line company. The South West is becoming increasingly popular with German visitors as they enjoy a wide range of interesting excursions when they come ashore at the region’s ports. German speaking guides are being provided by local tour operators which is all part of the bespoke service and warm welcome they can expect here, according to the Chairman of DSW and the Port Operations Director at Falmouth, Mike Reynolds; “In Falmouth, passengers are greeted by local volunteer Falmouth Ambassadors. As many of them can speak German, they are able to communicate well and meet the passengers needs so they enjoy the best possible welcome in the port.” Speaking of the Deutschland’s visit to St Mary’s, Jessica Smalley, Marketing Manager at Island Marketing said “The number of cruise companies who now stop at the islands is due to the invaluable work that DSW does in promoting the islands and the ports across the Southwest.” After visiting St Mary’s, the Deutschland will then continue on to ports at Cobh, Dublin, Larne, Ullapool, Invergordan, Leith and Hull before finishing her cruise in Hamburg. Destination South West actively promotes the region to ensure that the South West continues to attract high profile cruise ships to its ports. For more information on DSW visit www.destinationsouthwest.co.uk September 2010 (DSW01)