THE DUKE of York gave a royal boost to the UK cruise industry when he joined industry leaders from around the world at a summit in Leeds Castle.

Prince Andrew ended a brief tour of Kent by joining the high-powered gathering in the Henry VIII Banqueting Hall.

The three-day summit was sponsored by Seatrade, an events company for the cruise industry, and the Cruise UK division of the British Tourist Authority.

It involved a number of tours to Kent and Medway destinations, including Rochester and Canterbury, as well as a "traditional Kentish evening with ceilidh band." The summit aimed to demonstrate how UK destinations, including Dover, might feature more prominently in cruise-line itineraries.

Leeds Castle beat stiff competition to stage the event that took two years to plan. Joining the Duke of York as guests staying in the castle, were presidents of the world's leading cruise-lines, senior government ministers, travel experts, destination managers and tourist boards.

Sandra Barrett, marketing director for Leeds Castle, said: "We are delighted that the BTA chose Leeds Castle as the venue for this prominent occasion. We are active members of the Kent-based Cruise Connection Consortia, which has been active in this market for three years."

The port of Dover handles about 120 cruise passenger ships a year carrying between 800 and 3,000 passengers.

Earlier in the day, Prince Andrew visited Award International, a merchandising and promotional firm in Cliftonville to present the Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade. The firm was also named Kent Small Business of the Year in June.