Port of Vancouver makes history with the arrival of the 25 millionth
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is celebrating an exciting milestone with the arrival of the 25 millionth cruise passenger through the Port of Vancouver. To mark this significant occasion, the port authority hosted a celebration at Canada Place to honour the lucky passenger and to recognize the collaborative efforts by industry and tourism that make Vancouver’s cruise business so successful, the company said in its press release.
As a top global city, Vancouver continues to attract a wide spectrum of cruise lines and passengers from around the world. This year, 32 different vessels from 14 cruise lines will be visiting the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver, ranging from luxury smaller expedition style ships, to some of the largest vessels in the Alaska cruise market. More than 895,000 cruise passengers are expected in Vancouver this year, which is a seven per cent increase in passenger volume over 2017.
The Vancouver cruise industry stimulates nearly three million dollars to the local economy for each cruise ship that visits Canada Place and $1.6 billion in total economic impact, as passengers enjoy additional vacation time in Vancouver, Victoria and surrounding areas.
One of the first cruise lines to visit Vancouver was the Holland America Line, which has been cruising to Vancouver for more than 40 years and was the first cruise line to call the new Canada Place cruise terminal on April 28, 1986.
Highlights for 2018 cruise season:
More than 895,000 passengers are expected on 241 vessel visits in Vancouver in 2018. This represents a seven per cent increase in passenger volumes compared to the 2017 season. Each cruise ship that docks at the Port of Vancouver contributes, on average, nearly $3 million to the local economy.
The 2018 season includes several new vessels including Windstar Cruises’ Star Legend luxury cruise ship and the Norwegian Jewel, which will be replacing the Norwegian Sun.
The Port of Vancouver’s Canada Place cruise terminal welcomes the return of Holland America, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent, Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Crystal Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. These cruise lines all have vessels that use the Port of Vancouver as home port to begin and end each cruise.
The Port of Vancouver welcomes the Norwegian Bliss, the largest cruise ship to date to visit Vancouver, accommodating more than 4,000 passengers.
In 2009, the Canada Place cruise ship terminal became the first in Canada and third in the world to offer shore power for cruise ships. Since then, there have been 493 successful shore power connections out of 624 calls that are able to connect at the Canada Place cruise terminal. This equates to a total of 58,000 tons of fuel savings, more than 18,000 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and 524 tons of air pollutant reductions.
About the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority:
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is responsible for the stewardship of the federal port lands in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. It is financially self-sufficient and accountable to the federal minister of transport and operates pursuant to the Canada Marine Act. Canada Place at the Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest cruise port and has been the homeport to the Vancouver-Alaska cruises for more than 30 years. The Vancouver cruise industry stimulates on average nearly $3 million in direct economic activity for each vessel that visits Canada Place, generates nearly 7,000 jobs across Canada, $300 million in wages, and contributes $840 million to national GDP. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest, and the third largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. Located in a naturally beautiful setting on Canada’s west coast, the port authority and port terminals and tenants are responsible for the efficient and reliable movement of goods and passengers, integrating environmental, social and economic sustainability initiatives into all areas of port operations. Enabling the trade of approximately $200 billion in goods, port activities sustain 115,300 jobs, $7 billion in wages, and $11.9 billion in GDP across Canada.
