Don’t discount the benefits of cruise ships

The writer of the recent letter critical of cruise ships might want to consider taking a walk up Government and Douglas Streets and counting the number of businesses that have failed due to COVID and the collapse of Victoria’s tourism industry.

Cruise lines and cruise passengers dump more than $100 million into our economy annually. The Victoria Harbour Authority alone estimates a loss of $65 million to $70 million this year.

The loss of revenue from the cruise industry to shops and restaurants dominoes all of the way back up the chain to the suppliers of food and goods. This is a secondary unintended consequence that costs jobs, and the associated salaries disappeared.

I have worked at sea for three of the largest cruise ship lines, and have seen bits and pieces of 60 countries. I can vouch for the dollars left behind by crew in every port city visited. In my years away I certainly spent as much money on shore in foreign ports as I brought home.

People often mention the string of buses that travel back and forth to Butchart Gardens from the port full of cruise passengers on ship days. This year, that didn’t happen. Butchart Gardens carries a staff of about 600 people in peak season, and their paycheques circulate through our economy at every level. This year, they didn’t.

Finally, that cruise ships can return after November is a bit of a red herring. By November the season here on our coast is over. By then all of the ships on this side are sailing to ports in California, Mexico and Hawaii. The bulk of the remaining ships are delivering tourist dollars to the Caribbean Islands.

John Simpson Victoria