By
Rebecca Gibson |
Canada’s Port Saint John is to receive CAD$300,000 from the province’s department of tourism, heritage and culture to help it develop as a homeport for expedition-class cruise ships.
According to a study conducted by Dillon Consulting, Saint John is ideally suited to homeport expedition-class vessels due to its strategic position on the Canada-New England itinerary, its tourism services and other cruise-related facilities.
However, to accommodate expedition-class ships – which carry between 50 and 200 passengers – and the daily tide range in Saint John, the port will need to install a new gangway and/or floating platform. The government’s funding will help the port to build this infrastructure.
“I believe that we have a number of opportunities to take the next step with the cruising sector at Port Saint John,” said Trevor Holder, minister of tourism, heritage and culture. “This study has highlighted some very real and achievable ways to get into new cruising business opportunities but also some challenges. Over the next three years, our government will provide CAD$100,000 in funding to the port each year, which will help address the immediate infrastructure needs of the port.”
Port Saint John is already working with the department of tourism, heritage and culture to promote itself as a viable homeport for cruise operators. It also hopes to boost the local economy with its new infrastructure. On average, cruise passengers spend between CAD$60 and CAD$80 when visiting the port and when travelling on a homeporting vessel, guests spend up to twice this amount. This is because the majority of passengers travelling on homeporting ships stay at least one night in a local hotel and purchase meals and other incidentals.
“Port Saint John already has an excellent reputation in the cruise industry and we have excellent partnerships in our tourism sector, including our long-standing partnership with the New Brunswick Department of Tourism,” Peter Gaulton, chairman of Port Saint John, said. “When these strong attributes are added to 25 years of testimonies from passengers praising the destination, our potential to together contribute to tourism in this region keeps growing. Attracting expedition-class ships to homeport here gives us one more avenue to explore in the future.”
Port Saint John’s 2014 cruise season, which begins on 5 July, will see a record number of double-ship days, seven inaugural calls and the 1000th ship call.