Cruise ship season ends with nearly a million tourists this year

As the Norwegian Sun pulled out from Ogden Point Sunday night—the last cruise ship leaving Victoria on the final cruise day of the season—the Seattle-bound vessel, almost twice the length of a Canadian Football League field, left a banner year in its wake.

The 2023 cruise season concluded with high-water marks as some 326 ship visits transported 970,000 visitors to Victoria since the official opening of tourist season on April 11.

“Welcoming close to one million cruise passengers to our incredible city and region positively impacts the visitor economy,” said Robert Lewis-Manning, CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA). We are grateful to the many local businesses, tour operators and cruise lines for making Victoria a vibrant destination.”

Despite three fewer ship visits in Victoria this year compared with 2022, the region welcomed 26 per cent more cruise visitors due to higher ship occupancy, the GVHA reported.

Jessica Walker, chair of the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) board, and managing partner at Munro’s Books on Government, told Capital Daily it’s difficult to peg the specific impact of the cruise ship visitors on her bottom line.

“I think it’s very hard to tie that success strictly to the cruise ship numbers” she said.

“I would say overall, just in terms of tourism, more generally, it was a great summer.”

The economics of cruise season

Based on a 2019 economic impact study, cruise visitors spend an average of $86, and crew members who disembark spend an average of $117.

At just shy of a million passengers—plus the crew who sometimes head to shore—you can see how that money adds up.

The 2019 study approximates cruise visitors spend $14.6M on retail goods, $6.7M on food and beverage and a whopping $23.7M on tours and local transportation.

“For us it was a great year, we certainly did well,” said Alan Thimot, manager at Victoria Pedicabs, one of several transportation companies that were hopping with the influx of happy-to-spend tourists.

“We had, essentially, boats almost every day of the week, which is always good for us,” said Thimot, who told Capital Daily he figures business for his company increased by 15%.

“We’re grateful the cruise ships have come back and come back in the way they have,” said Bruce WIlliams, CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce (GVCC), which back in the spring forecast an injection of approximately $130M from cruise ship business alone, this year.

Leaving them wanting more

DGV’s marketing research indicates that more than one-third of cruise passengers were very or extremely likely to return to Victoria in the next five years.

“Cruise tourism provides a large volume of visitors with a quick experience in Victoria, that we hope whets their appetite to return for a longer stay,” said Paul Nursey, DGV’s CEO.

The Chambers’ Williams says a lot of tourists who spend the five-or-so hours on Victoria terra firma, awaiting departure back to Seattle, immediately like what they see.

“I think a good number of people who come here are surprised at what there is to do, how beautiful it is, and how clean it is here,” he said.

“That’s a comment we hear all the time. People just rave at the cleanliness here.”

Arrival time & drop-offs changed, but effect unclear

Some of the challenges for local businesses looking to attract foot traffic included a new drop-off point for cruise passengers bussed to the Inner Harbour and let off near the Empress, which may have resulted in fewer visitors to restaurants and shops further downtown.

It was the second year the City of Victoria moved the drop-off spot for cruise ship tourists a block away from its original Fort Street location. The plan to move the stop a football field over was devised in tandem with solidifying the south part of Government as a pedestrian-only street.

“A lot of people who are taking the bus, they’re taking the bus because they didn’t want to walk the 2km from Ogden Point to downtown Victoria,” says Victoria Pedicabs’ Thimot.

“They’re not necessarily interested in walking too far to explore Victoria.”

Some business owners thought the drop-off move was a good move.

"The shuttle stop in front of the Empress was a better option for the passengers this year," David Glowicki, co-owner of several downtown stores, including Spirit of

Victoria, Moose Crossing and Souvenir Outlet on Government, told Capital Daily. "It gave the best possible impression of Victoria and was the shortest route from the

terminal."

The DVBA did not specify which specific businesses may have seen more or less of a return this cruise season.

“I know for some of the businesses who are a little bit far away from the Inner Harbour, Lo-Jo, Chinatown area, they didn’t see as much traffic, although it’s hard to know how much of that is tied to the scheduling,” The DVBA’s Walker said.

The scheduling Walker refers to is the staggered ship arrival times, under new environmental regulations which force the ships at times lower their speed.

With ships now arriving in the dinner-time hour and often closer to 8 o’clock, some businesses were closed by the time the flux of tourists descended into the downtown core.

Glowicki, whose businesses line the area where cruisers are funneled into, said it was a "decent cruise season, however most ships arrived late in the day and didn’t give passengers enough time on the ground to explore."

There was a time businesses would stay open later on heavy cruise ship nights timing their hours with the arrival of cash-wielding travellers, but generally, that’s no longer the case, Walker said.

Williams said one of the reasons for that was the ongoing labour shortage, which has affected many businesses challenged to find service-industry workers.

Environmental concerns continue

Another challenge facing the industry involves its environmental record, not only while in BC waters but also when at port.

Ships mooring at Ogden Point continue to keep engine power idling to keep electricity running, but the harbour is closer to acquiring shore power so the ships can plug in.

It’s expensive and it’s still a ways down the road, but the BC government injected $9M in April to plan, design and deliver clean, renewable energy to cruise ships.

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said the goal is eventually to have two berths at Ogden where ships can plug in.

The industry also faces local pressure from Fair Sailing, an initiative of the James Bay Neighbourhood Association, which promotes a “locals-first” approach to the industry, and is often critical of the cruise industry’s environmental record.

Fair Sailing cites the findings of a 2022 study that suggests the economic benefits that flow into Victoria via the cruise ship industry are inflated.