St. John’s was a popular destination during the 2010 cruise season, which continued to have a major impact on the local economy.

The Port City hosted 19,025 cruise visitors during the 2010 cruise season, which generated an estimated $2,686,000 in revenue for the local economy.

“St. John’s had another successful cruise season with almost double the number of port calls – totalling 20 cruise visits up from 11 in 2009, ” says Mayor Dennis O’Keefe, Chairman of the Cruise St. John’s Committee.

The cruise season began earlier than usual on April 29 and concluded Oct. 8. St. John’s experienced a 74 per cent increase in the number of visitors (19,025) up from 10,917 total visitors in 2009.

According to Mayor O’Keefe, the overall economic impact of cruise visitation to St. John’s was derived from two types of cruise activity. In-transit port calls generated an estimated $1,183,000 for the local economy, while vessels utilizing St. John’s as a homeport or turn around port for cruises generated an estimated $1,503,000 in economic benefits. Economic benefits from cruise ships impact a large number of businesses in the St. John’s area including the port, ships chandlers and suppliers, ships agents, tour operators, attractions operators, accommodations operators, retailers, the food and beverage industry, and transportation providers.

Cruise St. John’s marketing efforts continue to pay off as St. John’s hosted five inaugural cruise visits by the Silver Spirit, AIDAluna, Spirit of Oceanus, Amadea and Ocean Nova. The Clelia II, Hanseatic, Lyubov Orlova, Maasdam, Eurodam, Silver Whisper, Ocean Princess, Crown Princess, Prince Albert II, Polar Star and Aurora made return visits to port.

“We continue to receive extremely positive feedback from cruise visitors and cruise lines following their trips to St. John’s,” says Mayor O’Keefe. “The success of this visitation is attributed to the continued delivery of quality service and programming for all cruise visitors which is made possible through strong industry, government and community partnerships.”

Cruise visitation to St. John’s in 2011 is expected to remain on a par with levels experienced this year. Early projections are indicating that the port city will host 17 cruise ships, which will bring approximately 20,000 visitors on vessels making in-transit port calls as part of transatlantic itineraries and expedition vessels utilizing St. John’s as a home port/turn around port for regional cruises