Home Economy Newport expects to see more cruise ships this season

Newport expects to see more cruise ships this season

By

Christopher Allen

-

04/25/2024

Gurneys-Newport — ACCORDING TO THE 2024 cruise ship schedule released Thursday by Discover Newport, the number of ships scheduled to arrive in Newport will eclipse 2023/COURTESY THE NEWPORT HARBOR RESORT

NEWPORT – City officials expect to see more cruise ships and passengers this season than it did in 2023, according to the 2024 schedule released by Discover Newport Thursday. The city’s tourism department expects 63 cruise ships to arrive in Newport Harbor’s Perrotti Park this season, eclipsing the the 53 vessels that arrived in 2023.

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NEWPORT – City officials expect to see more cruise ships and passengers this season than it did in 2023, according to the 2024 schedule released by Discover Newport Thursday. The city's tourism department expects 63 cruise ships to arrive in Newport Harbor's Perrotti Park this season, eclipsing the the 53 vessels that arrived in 2023. Another 30 or so smaller vessels usually sail to Fort Adams State Park, however, that schedule has yet to be released. Last year, there were a total of 98 cruise ships initially scheduled to visit Newport, though some were cancelled due to weather. In total, the city saw 85,000 cruise ship passengers last year. City officials are eyeing Perrotti Park as a potential revenue source this season to help pay for the rising costs of maintaining infrastructure and public services. In response to the growing concerns in public safety and stressed security funds to handle the harbor traffic, a resolution was approved by the Newport City council on Feb. 15 through a request by the city’s finance department to allow Newport to raise landing fees levied on cruise ship passengers from $6 to $20 per passenger. The $6 per passenger rate was last updated in 2014. A city spokesperson said Newport generated $409,600 in cruise ship fees in the summer of 2019, a number which grew to approximately $450,000 in 2023. A bill was introduced and co-sponsored by Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Newport, who testified before the House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing on April 2, and said the city with 27,000 year-round residents is now struggling to manage its more 4 million tourists that arrive annually. “The city is at a place where it really needs to address its infrastructure,” she said Carson. Carson pushed back against the assumption that cruise ships are an economic boon to local hospitality businesses, saying that most passengers have a set itinerary and eat their meals onboard, though she acknowledged many take tours of the historic mansions. “They don't eat in town. They are not necessarily spending money in Newport. I think that is a little bit of a fallacy,” she said. “But the time has come to make investments in the city.” Newport plans to cover a portion of the debt service for the $98.5 million bond to rehabilitate city infrastructure that recently passed the House, including the ailing Perrotti Park and its surrounding facilities. Testifying in support of both pieces of legislation, which as of Thursday has no companion bills filed in the Senate, Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong said the city is facing a dire financial future without an increase in revenues. An overview of the landing fees charged at other ports in the county, from Halifax to Boston, shows a $20 rate would be in line with the competition, he said. “We are certainly within market [rate] and it's time for us to catch up." In a follow up conversation Thursday, Carson said she expected the landing fee legislation to receive a full House vote sometime this session. Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com