Port of Prince Rupert to work with partners and tour operators to plan for successful cruise return in years to come

The Port of Prince Rupert has noted of its support towards the recent Federal ban on cruise ship visits to Canadian ports, while also indicating their desire to work with stakeholders towards moving the cruise industry forward in the region for the years to come.

As we outlined yesterday, Tourism Prince Rupert provided a short snapshot of the impact of the lost cruise ship season and the prospects of over 1 million dollars of lost revenue for local businesses and services this summer.

In a statement provided to the North Coast Review on Tuesday afternoon, the Port of Prince Rupert provided their view of the current situation, their own snapshot of the impact on the cruise ship calendar for 2020 as well as their resolve to continue to build the industry into the future.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is aware of the Government of Canada’s announcement on May 29, restricting cruise vessels that carry more than 100 persons until October 31, 2020. The health and safety of our community and transportation workers is our top priority and we support Transport Canada’s decision to implement cruise-specific measures in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. 

With these new measures in place, the Port of Prince Rupert will not see any cruise vessels call on Northland Terminal during the 2020 season. 28 vessels, totaling 14,150 passengers were originally scheduled for the 2020 cruise season in Prince Rupert. PRPA recognizes that this is extremely difficult for our local tour operators and small businesses who rely on the cruise industry in our community. PRPA will work with its partners and tour operators to plan for a safe and successful cruise operation in the years to come.

The topic may come up as part of next week's Annual Public Meeting, when port officials will provide for their update on recent and pending port projects and other items of interest related to port development in Prince Rupert and area.

The Port's Annual meeting will take place on a virtual stage this year, with the PRPA having taking the update to a Livestream and online process for 2020.

This years Port of Prince Rupert APM will take place Wednesday, June 10th at 5PM.

For more Port related themes see our archive page here.

A wider overview on Cruise industry themes in Prince Rupert can be found here.