Maine’s cruise ship season kicked off last week and with it came news from the state’s cruise ship marketing entity that 2016 is expected to see a 6% increase in the statewide cruise passenger total from last year, with more than 283,000 passengers expected to pay a visit to Vacationland this year.
At least 121 total cruise ship visits from 30 different vessels are expected this year at Maine’s busiest cruise ship port in Bar Harbor. Portland, the state’s second-busiest cruise ship port, is expected to get 77 total cruise ship visits, bringing over 106,000 total passengers to the city, according to a release from CruiseMaine reported by the Bangor Daily News.
According to the BDN, a report by the Cruise Lines International Association says cruise ship companies and passengers contributed $47 million directly to Maine’s economy in 2014, in addition to providing 755 jobs to residents.
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