First quarter fiscal year revenue for Port Everglades totaled $37.5 million. This quarterly revenue is more than 22 percent higher than the peak of $30.6 million reported three years ago before the Port was impacted by the global recession.
Cruise traffic at Port Everglades also jumped 25 percent during the first quarter over the same time period in the prior year, setting a world record for passengers. This double-digit growth is expected to continue as the cruise season progresses through the winter months.
From October through December 2010, the first quarter of Broward County’s fiscal year, a record 1,174,629 cruise passengers transited Port Everglades compared to 940,057 in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2010.
“The good news is that cruise travel is on the upswing in Florida and Port Everglades is taking the lead with the highest percentage increase among the state’s major cruise ports,” says Port Everglades Director Phil Allen.
These increases are being driven by the addition of Royal Caribbean International’s second 5,400-passenger Oasis-class cruise ship, Allure of the Seas, sailing every Sunday from Port Everglades beginning in December 2010 and a new long-term agreement with Carnival Corporation that is expected to bring 25.5 million cruise passengers to the Port over the next 15 years.
