Cruise ship traffic on the rise in the Maritimes

Paul Hollingsworth has the story of the booming cruise ship industry in the Maritimes, which is bringing thousands of tourists to the region.

A new day marked the arrival of another cruise ship in Halifax.

“Now we are getting a ship almost every day,” said Ambassatours Gray Line tour company President and CEO Dennis Campbell.

In fact, over the next week and a half, 10 cruise ships will visit the Halifax Waterfront, which means a massive influx of visitors will see the local sites, shop, take pictures and walk the boardwalk.

“It is all about seeing new places and revisiting old places,” said cruise ship passenger Art Barrett from Louisville, Kentucky. “We were here about 20 years ago and when I’ve been here, I’ve always found it nice.”

The cruise industry is booming, which has helped spark a post-COVID rise in tourism. Cruise ships bring more than 350,000 passengers to the Port of Halifax each year, aboard more than 200 ships.

“Cruises have their place, and we have cruised several times before,” said Norman Yee, who is visiting from Calgary. “It’s a nice way to get introduced to a few different destinations, without having to pack and unpack because the hotel travels with us, so to speak.”

In Halifax, the number of visitors climbed by more than 18 per cent last year, compared to 2023. According to Campbell, as the cruise industry grows, it brings people to Canada from all over the world, in increasing numbers.

“Our number one clientele would be Americans, but after that, we get a lot of Canadians, British people and a lot of Germans,” said Campbell. “And we are getting a whole variety of culture from all over Europe, more so than we’ve had in a long time.”

Campbell also pointed out cruise ship season goes well beyond the summer. These large vessels visit Halifax until mid-November.