California Cruise Industry May Be Adversely Affected by Canada's Ban

The Canadian Government’s recent announcement banning cruise ships carrying more than 100 people from operating in Canadian waters may adversely affect the cruise industry in California, according to the 4th Interim Report from Commissioner Louis E. Sola. Last month, Commissioner Sola released “Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Cruise Industry on California, Hawaii, and the Pacific,” which is part of the ongoing Fact Finding 30 investigation he is conducting. The report notes that California has incurred a considerable fiscal loss due to the cessation of cruising. "The international cruise industry brings in over a billion dollars to the California economy, and the individual ports bring in between $1.5 million to over $200 million for each local economy. The three large cruise ports in southern California (Long Beach, Los Angeles, and San Diego) account for thousands of jobs in that part of the state. The cruise industry in San Francisco is responsible for hundreds of jobs in that area." Aside from California, the report also examines direct and indirect economic impacts to ports and cities in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan. The report notes that while the cruise industry is a relatively small part of Hawaii's tourism industry, it still has a large economic impact. Cruise visitor spending alone in 2019 was over $490 million. As for the American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan, they have few cruise ship visits each year.

Fact Finding 30 is an investigation of the economic impact on cruise lines, the ports on which cruise ships call, and the industries that serve these ships.