City reports strong cruise ship season
When the 71st cruise ship deposits its final load of tourists in Portland this week to gaze at the last of the fall foliage, it will have capped a record season for the city. This year, 24 more ships visited the port than last year. But while ship visits jumped from 47 to 71, the number of ship passengers only increased marginally, from 70,092 passengers in 2009 to a projected 75,563 this year.
These numbers, however, are not as dispiriting as they first appear. City spokeswoman Nicole Clegg explains that the discrepancy between the sharp increase of ship visits and the smaller bump in passengers is the result of more moorings from 100- to 150-passenger ships versus mega-cruisers that carry 3,000 or so people. A total of 24 visits were from these smaller vessels.
And this was largely due to the decision by American Cruise Lines, which specializes in "small ship cruising," to make Portland its home port for two of its boats this year. "It adds a whole new level of economic development activity," Clegg says, with passengers flying or driving in, and possibly booking hotel rooms, eating out and shopping ahead of their departure day.
In fact, Portland is one of the few places where the cruise ship business is growing. In 2009, the industry as a whole sank. Weakening demand, increased capacity and bargain prices drove gross revenues down by 11.4% to $22.1 billion. Meanwhile, cruise lines and their passengers spent 10.1% less in 2009 than in 2008, and overall economic impact dropped 12.8% to $35.1 billion, according to a Cruise Lines International Association report.
However, in that year, more cruises landed more passengers in Maine than ever before, leading to a rise in the ships' total economic impact from $29 million in 2008 to $34.5 million here.
While it is hard to calculate the economic impact of cruise ships every year, in general, ship passengers are thought to spend on average between $80 and $100 when they're in port. More locally, a recent University of Maine report found that cruise ships brought between $5.8 million and $8 million in business to Portland in the 2008 season. In that year, only 47,841 passengers disembarked here, Clegg points out.
And while national numbers for the 2010 season are not finalized, the Cruise Lines International Association says results will likely have improved in most places, with almost a million more people taking cruises and possibly also spending more, according to Bob Sharak, marketing vice president for the association.
"Even though there has been turmoil in the economy and with midterm elections, there is still a heck of a more positive view," Sharak says.
Portland fared particularly well this year and last because it's benefitting from a surge of New England/Canada seaport tours offered by more cruise lines, as well as the city's efforts to capitalize on that, Clegg says.
Amy Powers, director of the tourism marketing organization CruiseMaine, says the expansion of berth facilities, parking garages and ship services in more large U.S. ports, like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and at Canadian ports like Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax, has helped stimulate sea tourism.
And Portland, which is not Maine's busiest port (Bar Harbor has more cruise ship visits), is taking strides to draw in even more cruise ship traffic. Construction on the new mega berth at the Ocean Gateway Terminal begins Oct. 29, and when the pier is completed sometime next spring or summer, it will double the city's cruise ship capacity, according to Clegg. At the moment, only 33 ships have booked a stay in Portland for 2011, but Clegg says those requests come in throughout the year.
One tactic the city has used to lure more cruise ships, beyond touting the area's beauty and Portland's metropolitan offerings, is to point out the fuel savings they would have if they added Portland as a way station. Rather than racing to make it all the way from, say, New York City to Bar Harbor in a day, "you add us into the mix, and you can reduce the speed you travel at and save fuel costs," Clegg says. "This was very productive a couple years ago when fuel prices went sky high."
Whatever is convincing more cruise ships to venture this way, it has been a boon for city morale.
"We've had two tough economic years," Clegg says. "It's been really nice for local businesses to know that ships will be arriving carrying this many passengers who will be walking the streets of Portland."
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