Apropos of The World, the gargantuan addition to the Portland waterfront for the past couple of days, an article in the Oregonian today mentions the economic impact the ship’s visit might have:
The ship’s 140 residents and crew of about 270 are touring the Portland area and seeing sights such as Multnomah Falls and Mount St. Helens.
They’re also leaving behind some cash. Travel experts predict the ship’s stop might inject some extra life into the local economy. While the exact economic impact of the Portland stop was unclear Wednesday, the industry standard for spending by cruise ship passengers is $125 a couple per day.
Bruce Connor, vice president of Sundial Travel & Cruise Center, which helped arrange the local itinerary, said the passengers could easily spend three times that.
Lessee, 70 couples times $125, times two (we’ll make it three) days, times the luxury multiplier of three…does everyone else get $78,750? Now, if you had a standard cruise ship of approximately the same tonnage (~45,000), like Carnival’s Holiday with a passenger capacity of over 1,400, that’s a daily yield of more than three times The World, even when they’re spending a third less per couple.
Not that I’m looking down my nose at any money coming into Portland myself or that cruise ships have been making the city a regular stop, but the desperation on the part of the O to make a $25K bump per day seem like a big deal in a city this size just makes us look kind of pathetic.