San Diego’s tourism industry, which supports 1 in 8 local jobs, is seeing a downturn this year: Rising inflation, failing consumer confidence and economic uncertainty have all been cited as reasons for the decline.
Monday, though, the Port of San Diego held a media event to celebrate the start of cruise season.
The “season” runs through June, and is the busiest time of year for cruise ships in San Diego.
According to the Port of San Diego, 389,000 passengers are expected to pass through San Diego this year while on a cruise. Those cruise ship visitors will spend roughly $2,000 per stay, which, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority, is twice as much as other visitors spend.
“They’re usually first-time travelers to San Diego,” said Daniel Kuperschmid, president of the San Diego Tourism Authority. ‘They travel in groups and multi-generational families, which is really important for our destination. Then they get a bite of the apple and hopefully want to come back.”
In total, cruise ship tourists will generate between $125 million and $250 million in economic impact for San Diego County this fiscal year.
Kuperschmid said 50% of San Diego’s annual visitors come from Arizona or California, so cruise ships increase San Diego’s global scope.
“Having cruise-ship people come from all over the world is just introducing us to new markets and bringing us travelers in the future,” Kuperschmid said.
As part of Monday’s event, the Holland America Line donated $5,000 to Emerald Keepers, which seeks to raise awareness about water and air quality in and around Coronado.
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