Cruise ship visitors to the Island are expected to jump by 11 percent this year, however St George’s and Hamilton may not benefit from the boost.The East End was crippled by the lack of cruise ship passengers last year only a handful of ships are scheduled to dock in St George’s in 2011.Hamilton is expected to have 32 cruise ships visit compared with 30 last year.King’s Wharf and Heritage Wharf at Dockyard will see the majority of the 180 contract and occasional visit cruise ships scheduled to come to Bermuda.Transport Minister Terry Lister announced the new cruise ship schedule for the upcoming season at a press conference yesterday. A total of 385,200 people are expected to visit the Island on cruise ships this season compared with 347,931 last year an increase of 11 percent.Mr Lister said this could inject $81 million into the local economy. The Island made $73.4 million from cruise ship visits last year. The Veendam is scheduled to visit St George’s 24 times, anchoring at Murray’s Anchorage because of its size.Meanwhile Penno’s Wharf will receive two visits from Seven Seas Navigator and one from Prince Albert II.Despite the relatively small number of visits, St George’s Mayor Kenneth Bascome was “optimistic” this tourist season would be “a little more” fruitful than the last.He said businesses at the East End had time to adjust to the new numbers. And, he said, the Corporation of St George was trying to promote the town’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status.Businesses in the area needed to stop relying so heavily on cruise ships to generate revenue, the Mayor said. He said they should focus on building a local customer base.He told The Royal Gazette: “I believe that we have put too much emphasis on the cruise ship visitors and I believe we as a community, and businesses, need to put more emphasis on [catering to] the residents of the town.“If we did, some of the businesses that close in the winter would be able to stay open year-round. There are 4,000 people living around the town.“We should convince those folks they should be shopping local. Just like the ‘Buy Bermuda’ campaign, people need to ‘Buy St George’.“We need to start to become more creative and see cruise ships as a bonus and not the catalyst for survival.”Mr Lister said the Island would benefit from having attracted new cruise lines including Silversea Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Aida Cruises.He also highlighted two visits by luxury liner Queen Elizabeth of the Cunard Line, as an accomplishment. Government had been proactive in attracting such groups, the Transport Minister stated.He said he was pleased about the new additions, including Carnival Cruise Line, which will be sailing from Charleston, Norfolk and Baltimore 12 times this year.“These are important originating ports as we have found that cruise visitors from the south-east of the United States appreciate Bermuda’s history and culture, and book more shore excursions than those originating from other ports,” he added.Tourism Minister Patrice Minors also applauded the surge in visitors.“This is wonderful news for Bermuda tourism. Without question, business generated from the cruise sector is an important element of our tourism industry and a major contributor to our economy.”Ms Minors said the Island’s cruise ship product had been a source of intense discussion and debate in past years.“We have listened intently to the concerns of merchants and other interested groups regarding the loss felt by the scaled back number of cruise callers to our shores.“And in response, we are pleased to make [the] important announcement signalling the increase of cruise visits for the 2011 season.”Ms Minors pointed out that the new callers were all recognisable names in the leisure travel industry and said they were rated among the top five cruise lines in Condé Nast.“So our ability to attract first class, premium callers is truly an accomplishment, particularly in the current climate that we are in.“Of course it goes without saying that Carnival Cruise Lines is also a very popular and recognisable brand. And so the combined visits by these liners, ensures that Bermuda is in for a very active and exciting season.”