New York Cruise Ship Alliance Information
Economic Snapshot
The City of New York saw 586,000 passenger embarkations during 2012, representing 5.8% of total U.S. embarkations. The Manhattan Cruise Terminal handled approximately 90 percent of the passengers while the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal processed the remaining 10%.
Total economic impact of New York City’s cruise industry in 2012 was $196.3 million. Passengers and crew spent an estimated $121.5 million while ashore in 2012. Embarking Passengers: $99.5 million; Transit Passengers: $3.2 million; Crew: $18.8 million.
Passengers with an overnight stay spent an average of $462 during their two-night stay, an increase of 5% over 2011. Spending by embarking passengers was overwhelmingly dominated by those with pre- and post-cruise overnight stays, these activities generating $93.1 million.
Passengers from outside NYC and the tri-state area continued to represent the majority of passengers in 2012 with 43% of NYC embarking cruise passengers residing in the tri-State area. When surveyed, only 13% reported that this was their first visit to New York City, while 53% stated this was their eighth or more visit. At least 41% made it a point to stay overnight at least one day to enjoy the city. Overall, 93% of embarking passengers were satisfied with their visit to New York City.
New York area tourism-related businesses, such as travel agencies, airlines, hotels, etc., received approximately $369 million, or 30% of the cruise ship industry’s direct expenditures in our area. Another $520 million, 42% of direct expenditures, was spent with businesses in five additional business segments, including food processors, textile and apparel manufacturers, and petroleum refiners and distributors within the nonmanufacturing sector.
The remaining 28% of direct expenditures in New York also impacted many other industries throughout the state including law firms, business service companies such as computer services, software consulting and marketing, manufacturers of products such as security equipment, and performing arts and entertainment establishments.
Trend Lines
Relative to 2011, New York experienced a 4.0 percent decrease in passenger embarkations and a 1.3% decrease in the number of resident cruise passengers. As a result, New York’s share of passenger embarkations fell by almost a half of a percentage point in 2012, while its share of resident cruise passengers declined by one-tenth of a percentage point.
Including homeport and transit calls, cruising at New York ports generated an estimated 857,000 passenger and crew visits, accounting for 3.9 % of all passenger and crew visits in the United States. This was a 4.4 percent decrease from 2011.
These visits produced an estimated $153 million in passenger and crew onshore spending, or just over $178 per visit. Passenger and crew spending declined by 3.7% from 2011.
With the decline in visits in New York and the strong increase in Texas, New York’s state ranking fell from third in 2011 to fourth in cruise industry direct expenditures with just under $1.24 billion, or 6.3% of the direct expenditures generated by the cruise industry in the United States. Direct cruise industry expenditures in the state decreased by 1.1% from 2011.