ATTRACTING MORE CRUISE SHIPS TO WINDSOR
Study examines growing tourism potential on Great Lakes
The tourism money from cruise ships has the potential to multiply five-fold in the next decade, from $5 million to $25 million, according to a group launching a $250,000 study on growing the Great Lakes cruise industry. Windsor is one of eight communities in the province that host cruise ships. Since 2006, the number of Windsor visits per year by cruise ships has risen from six to 21 last year.
And there is much more potential on the horizon, said David Cree, the CEO of the Windsor Port Authority, which is involved in the Cruise Ship Industry Group created to foster the industry in the province. “It is a blossoming industry and certainly one that can play a role in the growth of the downtown in the years ahead,” Cree said. Earlier this week he was at city council seeking endorsement of Windsor’s participation. Considering that an Ontario Tourism Ministry grant is paying the full cost of the business case, it was a “hard deal to say no to,” he said Wednesday. There are currently six cruise ships plying the Great Lakes, using smaller vessels that carry around 300 passengers. Windsor is one of the most popular of the Ontario ports, Cree said, with passengers disembarking for wine tours, trips to Caesars Windsor, the downtown and Detroit locales.
The consultants hired to conduct the business case for growing the industry will be consulting with local groups this summer with completion of the document expected byAugust.
Cree said the study will look at what investments may be needed to accommodate additional ships docking along the local riverfront. The City of Windsor, which owns the dock at Dieppe Gardens where the ships dock, may have to make improvements to fencing, bollards and other necessities.
And the big question is whether Canada Customs, which currently sends an officer on board to perform clearances for passengers, may require a riverfront building if business improves. “Many people in this industry think it could get significantly larger,” Cree said, adding that the study will determine the local potential. But considering that there are 21 visits during the three-month cruise season, there’s plenty of room for growth.
“And the city would have to take a long look to see if there’s enough economic impact for whatever romance there may be to having cruise ships down at your dock.” The other communities participating in the study are Kingston, Toronto, Little Current on Manitoulin Island, Midland, Parry Sound, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay. The ships typically zig-zag back and forth between Canadian and U.S. ports.
Cree, who’s retiring at the end of April after 33 years at the helm of the port authority, said Windsor’s cruise business was ramping up, until the terrorist attacks of 9/11 dramatically reduced the number of visits. But the numbers have been gradually improving to the point that they are now at pre-2001 levels. These cruises are popular with people from northern Europe, particularly Germans, he said. And they’re not cheap, costing in the $5,000 to $6,000 range for a seven-to-10-day cruise.