“Our cruise business means jobs for folks in King Co and across Washington State,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Bill Bryant. “Each ship call leaves behind about $1.9 million, and that’s good economic news for our region.”
The local cruise industry is estimated to have generated $425 million in business revenue, $18.9 million in state and local taxes and 4,447 jobs in 2011. Those numbers are expected to increase with the addition of Disney Cruise Line‘s Disney Wonder home-porting in Seattle for the 2012 cruise season for 15 voyages to the Alaska market. The Port of Seattle’s projection for 2012 cruise season sets the expectation of 880,918 cruise passengers with 201 scheduled cruise ship dockings.
Alaska continues to be a very popular destination for cruise vacations and ships sailing from Seattle average 109 percent of passenger capacity, the result of having multiple guests sharing a cabin- a real value for families cruising together.
The port authority attributes much of the popularity of Alaska cruising to the beautiful and well-appointed ships Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity cruises deploy in Seattle to the Alaska market. The wide range of sailings departing from Seattle and convenient air travel connections also play important roles.
“Robust cruise business has been a critical component of Seattle’s tourism success for the past decade, thanks to the Port of Seattle’s homeport investment,” said Tom Norwalk, President and CEO of Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The 2011 season was strong and we look forward to yet greater growth in 2012.”
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