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Transportation in Canada 2000 |
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13
PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION
Marine Transportation
Cruise Ship Traffic
The Port of Vancouver recorded its 18th consecutive year of
growth in 2000, passing the one million mark for the number of
cruise passengers handled annually. In all, 28 vessels from 13
cruise lines made 333 sailings during the year, up from 309 in
1999.
In Halifax, port traffic also reached new heights, with 93 cruise
ship calls and 138,000 passengers handled during the 2000 season.
Many of these passenger trips originated in New York. Saint John
was also a beneficiary of increased calls on this route from the
northeastern United States, with over 101,000 passengers visiting
during 2000.
The majority of these cruise passengers are US residents. The
growth in the cruise ship industry reflects the aging of the baby
boomer generation and the economic strength of the North American
economy during 2000.
Marketing also plays an important role in the growth of the
cruise industry, as can be seen in recent marketing initiatives.
Most recently, for example, the New Brunswick Cruise Association
was formed to encourage the development of the cruise industry
in that province. The Association also represents New Brunswick's
interests in the Atlantic Canada Cruise Association, formed in
1998. Another new marketing group is the St. Lawrence Cruise Association,
which replaced the St. Lawrence International Cruise Committee.
Yet another group marketing eastern Canada as a cruise destination
is the New Atlantic Frontier, made up of about 30 ports in a loop
from New York to Montreal that have pooled their marketing resources.
While cruise traffic was up at all ports from 1999 levels,
the number of scheduled visits at Montreal and Quebec City, as
well as at Atlantic Canada ports, was reduced by the bankruptcy
of Premier Cruise Lines of Florida in September 2000 and the seizure
of certain of their vessels for the non-payment of bills.
Table 13-7 shows the growth in international cruise ship traffic
at major Canadian ports from 1990 to 2000.
Ferry Traffic
Traffic data for 2000 for all members of the Canadian Ferry
Operators Association (CFOA) are not yet available. The 1999 traffic
figures, however, provide a good indication of the size of the
members' operations.
By far the largest operator in Canada (and celebrating its
40th anniversary), the British Columbia Ferry Corporation carried
approximately 21.4 million passengers and 7.8 million vehicles
in 1999. British Columbia's Ministry of Transportation and Highways
inland ferry services carried a further 3.2 million passengers
and 1.7 million vehicles. Another provincial service, La Société
des traversiers du Québec, carried 5.6 million passengers
and 2 million vehicles.
Marine Atlantic Inc., a federal Crown corporation, increased
its traffic in 1999, carrying 477,761 passengers, 149,732 passenger
vehicles and 76,905 commercial vehicles in its Gulf of St. Lawrence
service between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The private ferry
operators subsidized by the federal government also experienced
an increase, carrying approximately 650,000 passengers, 300,000
passenger vehicles and 50,000 commercial vehicles in 1999. The
remaining CFOA members accounted for approximately four million
passengers and 1.8 million vehicle crossings.
Marine Transportation
- Apendix 13-1 Amended Framework
for Canada's International Air Policy as at December 21, 1999
- Apendix 13-2 International
Air Services as of December 31, 2000 (Excluding Canada-US Transborder
Services)
- Apendix 13-3 Scheduled Transborder
Services as of December 31, 2000
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