Thousands of cruise ship passengers and crew have been invading the island this week with more due to arrive over the next few days.

In the space of a week — from April 11 to April 18 — some 20,000 visitors will provide a much-needed boost to the local economy.

According to the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA), nine ships were scheduled to arrive, carrying 12,981 passengers and 7,734 crew.

All three ports — Dockyard, Hamilton and St George’s — will be occupied.

“We have been working on increased activity this year for stakeholders in Hamilton and St George’s and now it’s happening,” said Pat Phillip-Fairn, the BTA’s chief product and experiences development officer.

“Since 2014, we have been strategically targeting the premium cruise ship brands to come to Bermuda because they often have smaller ships that are able to fit into our smaller ports. We’re seeing the fruits of that labour now.

“And perhaps more importantly, these cruise lines often carry passengers willing to spend more when they visit a destination.”

This week, Hamilton has or will see three calls. Two ships will be in St George’s and four in Dockyard.

For the year, Hamilton cruise calls are expected to go up from 15 to 18 and St George’s cruise calls will go up from two to four.

Mrs Phillip-Fairn added: “The percentage increases of calls for Hamilton and St George’s are up sharply and these calls are precious because there is a limited number of small ships in this part of the world. That’s why we encourage our stakeholders to stay keenly aware of when these ships arrive. We want to make sure they don’t miss these opportunities to welcome cruise visitors and win their business. That could mean opening early and staying open late if that’s what it takes.

“We’re happy they have the opportunity to decide how best to take advantage of these increased calls.”

According to the BTA “the latest projections for 2016 forecast a percentage increase in economic impact from cruise passenger and crew expenditure as a result of a greater number of cruise calls and a greater number of visitors with higher spending capacity.

“In 2015, there was an estimated economic impact of $71 million from cruise tourism, a combination of government taxes, cruise passenger expenditure and crew member expenditure.”

The full 2016 cruise ship schedule is available online via the Government’s Department of Marine & Ports website.