Bigger not always better when it comes to attracting cruise ships to N.L., says expert

An expert on the international cruise industry says Newfoundland and Labrador needs to change its thinking when it comes to the types of passengers it attracts to the province's ports.

The comments were made followinga report which shows2017 could be a potentially big yearfor cruise visits to St. John's.

Memorial University professor Ross Klein told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Showthat when ports such asSt. John's look at what kind of cruise liners they wantto attract, massive ships that carry thousands of passengers usually come to mind.

Klein said St. John's and other ports should instead be attractingsmaller "expedition" ships of about 200 passengers, whichactually bringtourists with more cash to spend at local businesses.

"Expedition ships are more lucrative, they explore more, that's the market one really wants to exploit," said Klein.

"Ports need to be well educated onthose ships where they can make huge amounts of money, and those ships where they're wasting their time and energy to try and generate income because they are largely different."

Bigger not always better

Klein said people on the small expedition ships are usually spending $700 or more per day for their cruise, and that they tend to stay in port longer and spend more time exploring the cities and areas where they dock.

He said cities will often try to attract largecruise liners, butmunicipalitiesneed to listen to other views andnot to what the big cruise lines tell them.

Klein said cities should instead work on targetingtourists with the most money to spend, such asthose onexpedition vessels, instead of just always going for the big cruises liners without thinking it through.

"We get mesmerized by the big cruise ships, because they are impressive to look at," he said. "We forget all about these other smaller companies that make very good income andare doing quite well, and are good sources for us to have business."

Deceiving numbers

Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador says it's anticipating nearly 100,000 passenger visits to St. John's this year, up from 50,000 in 2016.

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Klein is cautiously optimistic about that projection, and saidthose numbers can be misleading because there are always changes as the year goes on.

"The weather sets in, cruise lines change their itineraries, companies go out of business and all of a sudden we get far fewer than we are told are going to be there," he said.

"As well, let's say one cruise ship has 200 passengers, if it visits 10 ports they are counted at 2,000 passengers. Sowe need to look at what these numbers mean."