Sunday, September 13, 1992 - North Shore News ~ 23 Tourism dollars continue to post-cruise opportunities for pas- THE LOCAL cruise ship industry — now adding an an- nual $20 million to the Greater Vancouver tourism market — is becoming more and more popular. Provincial tourism benefits, coupled with the port and ‘shore services, bring an economic benefit to this province of approx- imately $100 million annually, ac- cording to information provided by Ship to Shore, an annual con- ference co-sponsored by Tourism Vancouver, Tourism British Col- umbia and the Vancouver Port Corporation. Figures from the 1990 season show that over 100,000 cruise pas- sengers spent $21.8 million while passing through or stopping in Vancouver. During the same year, 228 vessels came through with 182,276 inbound passengers and 483,341 outbound passengers. Those figures were up from 211 ships carrying 146,253 passengers inbound and 147,230 outbound in 1987. And 1991 numbers indicate that the upward trend is continu- ing with 256 ships carrying 189,71! passengers inbound and 190,365 passengers outbound. Tourism Vancouver has been surveying cruise passengers this year to discover what about Van- By Pamela Lang Features Reporter couver interests them, said media relations person Alix Kerr. ff enough interest is shown through the survey, cruise tourism could be pushed to new highs through extended stays and the consideration of Vancouver as a destination rather than just a boarding point. Marketing through research is the approach that should ensure that the promotions that are de- veloped are the ones the cruising public wants, she added. One service — new for cruise passengers in 1991 -- was suc- cessfully lobbied for by Tourism Vancouver. Pre-clearance of passengers fly- ing out of Vancouver after dock- ing allows them to spend time visiting our area (while their lug- gage goes straight out to Sea Island) rather than just travelling through it to sit in the airport for five hours until their flight time. “That has made quite a dif- fm ey A Special Feature Of The North Shore News ference’? in the amount of time and money spent here, said Kerr. Tourism Vancouver is continu- ing to develop both pre- and sengers to see more of British Columbia as cruising continues to become more and more popular. Seven Seas Cruise Line “Song of Flower” Personally inspected FRoseway staff! 5 Star-plus luxury ship Complimentary airfare European crew Norwegian officers Nightly entertainment Singapore-Bombay March 10-29, from $5500 US 172 passenger maximum Gratuities, wine and liquor included All shore excursions included Pre and post deluxe hotel nights included Scandinavian stewardesses Bangkok-Singapore March 2-15, from $4: US Bombay-Cairo Single Travelers March 23-April 12, from $5300 US Special — only 25% surcharge 926-4344 ROSEWAY TRAVEL (ground floor of office tower, South Park Royal)