ANOTHER cruise company has announced it will be bringing more passengers into Dover next year.

Festival Cruises used the arrival of the liner Flamenco last Monday to launch its 2003 brochure - the second time in a week that a major cruise company had chosen Dover as the venue for such a launch.

It was only the second visit by Flamenco - it called at the port on June 6 - during northern European cruises.

Next year, the larger Mistral will take over from Flamenco increasing capacity by around 50 per cent. The 47,300-tonne liner is due at Dover on May 3, at the end of a 13-night eastern transatlantic crossing from Santo Domingo, and again on September 29 at the start of another crossing in the opposite direction.

She has eight passenger decks, two swimming pools, six lifts, a casino, disco, children's club, beauty salon, sorting club and medical centre. She can carry 1,196 passengers.

The company's new brochure includes details about Dover and excursions that can be booked to London, Canterbury and Leeds Castle.

Festival Cruises will have seven ships in its fleet next year, with the latest - Cribe - sailing from Havana in Cuba all year round departing weekly.

"We are planning major investments to promote the image and awareness of Festival Cruises in the UK," said sales manager Michelle Stanners.

"We want to develop this market and in order to do that we have to understand the needs of the UK industry, so that we can grow together."

The company invited representatives from travel companies across the county to the Flamenco on Monday so see the ship for themselves.

Among them was Tony Hammond, of GoCruise which is based in Headcorn, and whose company is attracting increasing business.