A halt to the cruise sector for the entire season will remove £14 million from Belfast's economy, a maritime lobby group has warned.
The city was due to receive 129 cruise ships in 2020, bringing an estimated 310,000 cruise visitors and generating £110,000 per cruise, according to Maritime UK figures.
It said the sum does not include regional supply chains which also benefit, such as manufacturing, hotels, laundry and taxi drivers, claiming that for every one per cent drop in cruising up to 530 jobs can be lost.
[ READ MORE: Coronavirus deaths continue to drop, with death toll at 816Opens in new window ]
Ben Murray of Maritime UK said cruises are also "vital" to Northern Ireland's coastal communities who are "shouldering an unequal burden from this crisis".
The city's cruise market grew by 136 per cent between 2015-19 and has been hailed as "a real success story of the modern Northern Irish economy", generating repeat visits - with 76 per cent of passengers "very" or "quite" likely to return for a non-cruise holiday.
Maritime UK Chair, Harry Theochari described Belfast as "a leader in the UK when it comes to cruise with so many ships starting and finishing their voyages there".
"The economic hit from cruise business being on hold is substantial. £14m is a massive figure and it will be felt by thousands of people across the city and country."
He called on the government to "back the sector as a driver of economic growth to aid the recovery".
"During the election government rightly highlighted the need to support our coastal communities, many of which have felt left out and left behind in recent decades.
"Growing cruise line calls to our seaside towns and cities in recent years has brought billions in economic value and has been a real success story for local suppliers.
"Belfast and the UK has become a global centre for cruise, providing great commercial opportunities for British companies and opportunities for our young people to see the world with a career at sea."
Mr Theochari said the situation is "causing a domino effect" on communities reliant on cruise tourism and called for ministers "to support cruise when the time is right as a critical part of the recovery process".
