Portland’s cruise ship season went out on a high note this past weekend, as the city exceeded 100,000 passengers in a season for the first time in its history.
The Italian cruise ship AIDAmar brought in passenger No. 100,000, which represents a 6% passenger increase for the city compared to last year.
But the good news for Portland’s cruise ship season didn’t end there, as the city broke four other cruise-related records this season by hosting the most maiden voyages at nine; increasing its crew number by 10%; and welcoming the largest cruise ship ever, The Anthem of the Seas, which brought in 4,974 passengers and 1,480 crew members.
“According to a study done in 2015 that was based on 55,000 passengers, we had an economic impact of $5.8 million,” Bob Leeman, Cruise Portland’s marketing manager, said in a release. “Based on those numbers this year’s impact would be close to $11 million in economic impact. As we look toward a 17% increase in cruise ship activity next year, and an even larger increase in 2018, we can see how the investments into the port have been successful.”
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