PortMiami Busiest Port In The World
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – More than four million cruise passengers passed through PortMiami this year making it the world's busiest cruise port, said PortMiami officials Thursday.
The data is for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013.
Officials with PortMiami said the multi-day passenger total reached 4,030,356 and the number of single-day travelers between the port and the Bahamas was at 48,173.
According to the PortMiami's Port Director Bill Johnson, the addition of two new cruise brands, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Disney Cruise Line, along with three new cruise ships including the Carnival Breeze, Celebrity Reflection, and the Oceania Riviera helped to boost the numbers.
"Last year marked our greatest fleet expansion ever in a single cruise season," Johnson said in a news release. "Looking ahead, 2014 promises to be yet another banner year. We are anticipating a surge in cruise traffic with close to five million cruise passengers traveling through PortMiami in the coming year."
Next year, additional cruises from the Mediterranean brand MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line will likely increase the passenger numbers further, according to officials with PortMiami.
"PortMiami is proud to be known worldwide as the "Cruise Capital of the World," said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez in a press release. "We look forward to continued growth and expansion of the cruise industry, which contributes significantly to the local economy."
PortMiami contributes $27 million annually to the local and state economies and supports more than 200,000 jobs.
