To celebrate, Victoria and Joseph Winthal of San Francisco were recognized as the six millionth passengers. The couple arrived as part of a family group of 14 aboard the Golden Princess. The Winthals were greeted as they disembarked and treated to a selection of prizes and visitor experiences donated by local business and tourism partners. The couple was able to choose from these opportunities to explore the city while the ship was in port.

Victoria’s cruise industry brings significant economic benefits to the capital region with hundreds of thousands of dollars of benefits to the local economy with each ship visit. This year, Ogden Point is welcoming 230 cruise calls, carrying more than 513,000 passengers. Under GVHA’s stewardship, the number of cruise ships arriving in Victoria has more than doubled, and the number of passengers more than tripled since 2002.

The overall economic impact of cruise tourism for the Greater Victoria region is estimated to exceed $100 million in 2015 and the industry supports nearly 900 jobs. Cruise activity is an important economic driver for British Columbia, generating over $1.79 B for the provincial economy in 2014.