By
Rebecca Gibson |
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) hosted the first of the 240 cruise calls it is expecting in 2017 when Princess Cruises’ Star Princess berthed at Ogden Point on 10 April.
This year, GVHA expects to welcome calls from Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Seabourn, and ResidenSea. Collectively, these ships will bring more than 550,000 cruise tourists to Victoria and generate an estimated CAD$100 million for the region. The cruise season will wrap up on 5 October.
“We’re looking forward to another successful season at Ogden Point,” said Ian Robertson, CEO of Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. “Cruise lines, and cruise passengers, have told us how much they love visiting Victoria, and we know our partners in tourism and transportation will be providing another exceptional experience in 2017.”
GVHA has recently completed a CAD$200,000 renovation project at Ogden Point’s Pier B terminal. which will enable it to move passengers more efficiently through customs and out to ground transportation pickup and walking routes.
The harbour authority has also significantly improved the environmental sustainability of its transportation operations. In 2016, fee incentives were introduced to encourage coach operators to use newer buses with lower emissions at Ogden Point and a similar incentive will be in place in 2017. Working in partnership with CVS Tours, GVHA has also introduced the first purpose-built, fully electric double decker bus, which will operate as a pilot project at Ogden Point in 2017.