By
Rebecca Gibson |
Cruiseport Boston handled a record-breaking 382,885 cruise passengers this year, an increase of 12,000 guests since 2012.
This year, 287,542 cruise guests embarked and disembarked from 68 ships at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, while 48 vessels called at the port for a day or more, bringing an additional 95,343 passengers.
“At the beginning of the 2013 cruise season, we’d estimated around 362,000 passengers so this is great news,” said Thomas Glynn, CEO of Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). “This continuing growth of the cruise industry in Boston has a great economic impact on the local and regional economy.”
Massport expects to welcome between 350,000 and 400,000 cruise visitors in the 2014 season. Next year, 60 ships from four different cruise lines will offer Boston departures, while another 60 ships from 15 cruise lines will call in Boston.
“For many of the passengers and crew, 2013 was their first time in Boston and they’ll come back for a longer stay and explore the award-winning restaurants and museums, shopping centres, professional sporting events and historic tourist attractions,” said Massport’s port director Deborah Hadden. “We hope that more and more people take advantage of the ability to enjoy a cruise out of Boston or a cruise that visits the city as a port of call.”