The Cruise the Saint Lawrence group reported record passenger results for the 2015 season, with 269,940 passengers and 29 ships in the region, for a total of 435 calls in nine ports. 115,427 passengers were turnarounds at Quebec or Montreal.

These numbers are up from 2014, which saw 348 calls and 27 different ships in the region from May through November.

The three busiest ports were Québec, Montréal and Saguenay, respectively, accounting for  45.1 percent, 24.3 percent and 12.2 percent of the business.

Dominique Vien, Minister of Tourism, minister responsible for Chaudière/Appalaches region and Member of the National Assembly for Bellechasse, said the cruise business was worth $145 million to the region, and accounted for some 1,600 direct jobs.

“Based on bookings received to date by our different Saint Lawrence ports of call, we can already confirm that the upcoming season promises to be as good, if not better than the one just ended. This is a sure sign of cruise line confidence and proof positive that efforts by member ports of call to enhance cruise passenger greeting infrastructure have begun to pay handsome rewards. We aim to pursue efforts in this regard and provide passengers with the best greeting experience in the industry,” stated Tony Boemi, President of Cruise the Saint Lawrence.