When a cruise ship drops a port of call in Alaska to spend more time in Victoria it is surely indicative of the Vancouver Island’s attractiveness.  Ian Robertson, CEO of The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority suggested “that means the feedback is coming back to the cruise lines that the passengers like Victoria and they want to spend more time here.”

The harbour authority welcomed 227 ships and about 533,000 passengers in 2015; an increase from 2014 where the tally was 206 ships and 465,000 passengers.

“It’s a record year,” said Robertson.

Ogden Point is the busiest cruise port-of- call in Canada.  Robertson said the harbour authority doesn’t expect more ships at Ogden Point in 2016, but larger cruise lines; that bring more passengers.

Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas, the largest cruise ship to sail to Alaska will make 21 stops at Ogden Point next year. It has a capacity of 3,100 passengers.

The harbour authority anticipates the ship’s arrival at 8 a.m. and departure at 6 p.m. every Thursday, bringing an extra $1.3 million to the city’s coffers.

According to their website, the GVHA is encouraging opportunities to expose cruise visitors to more unique Victoria experiences, thereby expanding the positive economic impact in our region.

David Cowen, chairman of Tourism Victoria’s board of directors, said “Our hotel occupancy has been up about four per cent and we’ve seen a good healthy increase in our average daily room rate, which is a good indication that hotels have been busy.”

Cowen said the higher numbers are a result of the return of visitors from the United States, as well strong numbers from China, Australia and the United Kingdom.

“Globally, tourism is a trillion dollar sector,” he said. “It’s growing year after year and we’re really just starting to get our share.”