THOUSANDS of passengers from around the world are descending on Weymouth and Portland as the borough enjoys a boom in cruise ship visits.

More than 8,000 cruise passengers will be arriving at Portland Port in September including travellers from from Italy, Germany and the USA.

The port has already seen the arrival of more than 9,000 cruise passengers since May.

And members of the community of Weymouth and Portland are looking forward to welcoming continued visitors who are expected to give a major boost to the local economy.

The Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce is pleased that Portland Port, a Chamber member, is receiving so many cruise ships and visitors this year.

Chamber president Michelle Hind said: “This is fantastic news for Weymouth and Portland. Visitors are brought by bus straight to Hope Square and the south side of the harbour, where they are met by volunteers from the Weyfarers. Last Sunday the harbour was teeming with visitors."

Since May a total of 9,404 visitors have arrived at Portland Port off a host of different vessels, including the arrival of the Sapphire vessel, which docked earlier this month bringing 752 passengers. Another 1,200 passengers arrived on the Artania vessel.

Michelle added: "To give you an idea of the numbers involved, 17,000 people would need 236 double decker buses to bring them all in to Weymouth and if you parked those buses end-to-end they would reach from the Pavilion almost up to Lodmoor.

“Portland Port is one of the area’s success stories, growing its cruise ship business year on year to bring thousands of people into the local area.

“Many of the visitors take the opportunity to explore Weymouth and Portland or travel further afield, bringing benefits to a wide variety of businesses.”

American vessel Marina is another one of the latest cruise ships to have sailed into Portland Harbour.

Echo reader Ken Deadman snapped a picture of it's arrival a few weeks ago.

The 66,000 tonne, 239m-long Marina has a cruising speed of 20 knots and can carry up to 1,250 passengers.

Her last port call was at Cobh, in Ireland.

Portland Port is one of only three ports on the south coast of the UK which can accommodate cruise ships of up to 300m in length. And with plans afoot to extend this further, work is expected to finish by the start of the 2017 season. This will mean Portland Port can accommodate ships of up to 340m in length.

Last year 23 cruise ships visited Portland Port, bringing a total of with a total of 26,500 passengers for a successful season.

And next year is expected to be no different as thousands of people will Be our Guest when The Disney Magic Ship docks in May 2017 brining 2,400 passengers onshore.