Business case made to make Port Colborne a cruise ship destination
Published April 19, 2022 at 1:11 pm
More than 50 Port Colborne residents attended a recent public info session – some in person, some by Zoom – to hear the city’s initiative on making their ports a cruise ship destination.
Greg Higginbotham, the city’s tourism coordinator, kicked off the meeting with a high-level summary of Port Colborne’s cruise destination business case and a recap of what the city’s project team has been working on to support their cruise ship initiative.
The rationale is simple. If Port Colborne can get cruise ships to dock and the passengers can come off, the benefits to the city’s businesses could be enormous.
The consultants that were integral to the business case – Bruce O’Hare, President and CEO of Lakeshore Excursions and Stephen Burnett, Executive Director of The Great Lakes Cruise Association – teamed up during the second half of the one-hour session to answer questions from the public about the initiative.
Given their experience in other cities with ports, they dealt with matters such as onshore transportation, the involvement of restaurants and accommodation providers, as well as opportunities to offer excursion activities that will have cruisers exploring and enjoying the best parts of Port Colborne.
“It was beneficial having the consultants who wrote the business case in attendance,” said Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele. “From my conversations with them over the last couple of years, I’m always amazed by their knowledge about Great Lakes cruising and how committed they are to seeing ports of call, like Port Colborne, succeed.”
Gary Long, the city’s manager of strategic initiatives, added that the city’s waterfront centre project comes from a recommendation in the cruise destination business case and will kick-start the revitalization of Port Colborne’s most valuable attraction.
“Backed up by their analysis of different cruise ports along the Great Lakes, our consultants have presented us with strategies to create a more people-friendly waterfront that can generate substantial economic benefits,” said Long.
“I’m looking forward to having an architecture firm start designing the waterfront centre over the next several months and to continued financial support from the federal and provincial governments on this extraordinary project”.
As city staff wait for a decision on an application to the Tourism Relief Fund, which will provide the city with additional resources to meet their targeted goals, they are gearing up for when the first cruise ships arrive in Port Colborne next month.