Victoria’s cruise ship season kicked off Monday morning by welcoming more than 2,500 passengers to Ogden Point.
The Star Princess, the first ship to arrive at Ogden Point this season, arrived around noon, and is the first of more than 240 estimated cruise ship calls this season.
“We’re looking forward to another successful season at Ogden Point,” said Greater Victoria Harbour Authority CEO Ian Robertson in a relesae. “Cruise lines, and cruise passengers, have told us how much they love visiting Victoria, and we know our partners in tourism and transportation will be providing another exceptional experience in 2017.”
The harbour authority recently completed a $200,000 renovation project at Pier B terminal to ease the flow of passengers through customs and out to ground transportation and pickup and to walking routes.
The cruise season, which is expected to bring an estimated $100 million in economic value to the region, will wrap up on Oct. 5.
In 2016, the harbour authority welcomed more than 550,000 passengers and 212,000 crew from 224 ships.
The B.C. Liberals recently announced plans to help the harbour authority execute their plan to revitalize the terminal, and secure a minimum of two cruise ships using Victoria as their home port by 2021, as part of their platform if re-elected.