Port of Québec receives excellence awards
March 27, 2009
Québec City, March 27, 2009. Last week at Seatrade Cruise Shipping
Miami, the Québec Port Authority (QPA) received two excellence awards
from Dream World Cruise Destinations magazine for its performance in
2008—“Most Responsive Port” and “Best Destination Experience,
Independent.”
As is its custom, Dream World Cruise Destinations conducted an
industry-wide survey in 2008 to identify the top-performing ports and
destinations in the international cruise market. The “Most Responsive
Port” award is given to the port that responds most quickly to
inquiries and finds solutions to cruise line requirements and special
requests. Among the other 2008 winners are the ports of Barcelona,
Spain; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Stockholm, Sweden.
The “Best Destination Experience, Independent” award is based on a vote
by passengers who booked their own land excursions and had the best
tourism experience. Other 2008 recipients include Venice, Italy;
Sydney, Australia; and Dublin, Ireland. This is the third time that the
Port of Québec has been honored with this award. QPA also won the “Best
Destination Port (Rest of the World)” award in 2002 for the best port
outside the Carribean, Mediterranean, and Northern Europe geographic
areas. These awards thus add to the Port of Québec’s outstanding 2008
international cruise season with more than 112,000 passengers and
crewmembers welcomed.
After many years of development efforts with international cruise
lines, the Port of Québec is pleased to see this recognition, which
speaks to Québec City’s growing renown as a must-visit destination on
the Canada & New England route. “The Port of Québec has worked hard
to develop this market in the face of global competition. We are
pleased to have succeeded in positioning Québec City among the most
prized destinations in the world,” noted the CEO of the Port of Québec,
Ross Gaudreault.
In these more difficult economic times, the Port of Québec is
staying cautious for 2009, despite average annual growth in the cruise
industry of 7.4% since 1990. “The international cruise industry proved
resistant to economic turmoil in the 20th century. We must therefore
keep up our sales efforts and promote the message that Québec City is
an extraordinary destination with 400 years of rich history and a
European appeal found nowhere else,” added Mr. Gaudreault. At the 2009
edition of Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami last week, Cruise Lines
International Association (CLIA) nevertheless predicted a slight 2.8%
increase in passenger traffic in 2009, to 14.5 million.
A number of firsts in 2009 will, however, provide a boost to Québec
City, including the inaugural visits of the Queen Victoria, the
Norwegian Spirit, and the Princess Danae. Moreover, European line Costa
Cruises will sail the St. Lawrence River for the first time with its
ship Costa Atlantica. Québec City will play host a total of 71 times to
visiting ships this season and is expected to welcome nearly 124,000
passengers and crewmembers. QPA also anticipates twice the number of
embarking passengers as the previous year, for a total of 37,000.
The cruise industry brings over $100 million to Québec City annually,
with an average per-passenger expenditure of $118 per debarkation.
Québec City is a port of call for all cruise ships sailing the St.
Lawrence River route, in addition to serving as home harbour to a
number of luxury liners.
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Source:
Patrick Robitaille
Vice President
Marketing and Development
Québec Port Authority
Telephone: 418-648-4956
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