How Cruise Tourism is Boosting Vancouver’s Economy

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has disclosed results of a new economic impact assessment revealing that each cruise ship contributes approximately $3 million to the local economy. This includes expenditures by passengers and crew on food, drink, lodging, and activities, as well as expenses incurred by the cruise lines in provisioning, fueling, and maintaining their vessels.

The combined local expenditure by passengers, crew, and cruise lines surpassed $1.1 billion last year, with the cruise lines allocating around $600 million to local goods and services, the port authority announced. Additionally, an average passenger expenditure is estimated at about $450 on hotels, dining, shopping, tours, and local attractions.

With the cruising season nearing its end, it is anticipated that around 1.27 million passengers will have journeyed through the Canada Place cruise terminal. Notably, half of these passengers traveled on ships operated by Holland America Line or Princess Cruises, with these lines making 77 and 61 stops respectively from May through September.

In terms of local supply chains, the port authority highlighted the provision of fresh seafood to Holland America among others, to support its worldwide fresh fish initiative. The cruise line guarantees that fish served on their ships are fresh from the ocean to the plate within 48 hours of departing from Vancouver.

The cruise industry is also identified as the second-largest job provider for the port, directly supporting 9,500 jobs.