(Originally published in TOURISM)
It may not be the first destination that comes to mind when one thinks of cruises, but the Great Lakes are enjoying renewed appeal among seasoned cruise consumers these days. This bodes well for this underrated sector of the industry, according to Stephen Burnett, executive director of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition in Kingston:
“The Great Lakes industry is a small, intimate ship industry. We worked with Lloyds of London to establish that there are about 140 small ships around the world which can fit into the St. Lawrence Seaway. Of those, probably 60 are desirable in terms of running a quality operation, and they are of a size that creates a significant economic impact.”
Burnett knows the challenge is supplying the owners and operators of these ships with a strong business case showing they can make money in the Great Lakes. He guided an exhaustive study that looked at how seven small ships (100, 200, 400‑passengers in size) could perform. “We realized there is about $50 million worth of delivery in a 155‑day season that can come from a small cruise ship fleet. If we grew the fleet to 20 cruise ships, the Great Lakes could have $100‑million industry in the blink of an eye.”
This research also confirmed that – as with most cruising operations – there are two revenue streams in the Great Lakes. One, of course, is made‑up of tourists on board, spending money on shore excursions and visiting shops. And, there is the marine operation side, where the ship has to be fuelled and serviced, and crew has to be paid. “At the end of the day, when we stick that into a big pot, what it does is it delivers an economic footprint into the Great Lakes region and influences every port the ships touch.”
To better take advantage of these opportunities, many ports and regions have taken a leap of faith and invested in facilities that can handle those ships, explains Burnett: “Our mission, when we talk to the ports, is to advise them not to rush in and build sophisticated custom terminals that will bring with them a debt to service. We encourage them to use the resources they have already, especially if they have access to a heritage building or a lovely old warehouse.”
In the case of some destinations, investments on a larger scale may be considered, he adds: “Toronto has built a beautiful multi‑use terminal on the east end of the harbour. Little Current, on Manitoulin Island, has the most visited port on the entire Great Lakes and is improving its mooring facilities so that ships can actually come and moor right downtown, as they do in Scandinavia in the Fjords.”
To prepare for future growth, the Government of Ontario funded an initiative that basically teaches a community how to handle a cruise ship when it arrives, according to Burnett. “This helped tremendously in communities that didn’t have a full grasp of the industry.”
Bruce O’Hare is one of these people who – like Burnett – sees the potential for the region. He owns and operates the largest hotel operation in Little Current (the Anchor Inn) built in 1888, and Lakeshore Excursions, a business which caters to passengers from visiting ships: “We are very much like Alaska was 30 years ago,” he believes, “a destination in its infancy but with very committed among member ports.”
This small port regularly welcomes ships bearing 100 passengers, and it is currently in the midst of a $4 million waterfront development. “Typically, passengers are American, older and affluent, and taking higher‑end cruises than mass‑market Caribbean cruise lines offer. These smaller vessels warrant higher per diems and people who visit our ports tend to have traveled significantly. They have been to the Mediterranean twice; they have done Alaska, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and South East Asia and are looking for new destinations. Therein lays the opportunity.”
He believes there is a rebirth of cruising on the Great Lakes at the moment. “What is old is new. There was a time when there were more people cruising on the Great Lakes than on any ocean in the world, and that is slowly returning. The Great Lakes have many advantages. They are very safe and the English language makes the destination accessible. There are many of the conveniences here not found in other parts of the world. ‘Homeland cruising,’ a term coined after 9/11, is the reason why places like Jacksonville, New Orleans, Charlotte and all of these other ports on the eastern seaboard and north of Mexico are now playing host to large cruise ships,” he adds.
Great Lakes attractions are numerous, from film festivals to Grand Prix racing—things that might be also associated with European destinations. The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, a bi‑national marketing agency, is not shy about making the cruise trade aware of this, notes Stephen Burnett: “We go to Seatrade in Miami to make sure the Great Lakes region takes its place alongside the great destinations in the world, particularly in Germany and South East Asia. What we do see is a huge recognition by the small ship cruise industry that we have a wonderful experience to offer in these freshwater inland seas.”
To make sure the destination gets the attention it deserves, Burnett’s group launched a series of inspections with the help of the Government of Ontario, targeting cruise ship firms from overseas, as well as reputed tour operators that use cruise ships. “We realized that these people are very busy. We brought them to Canada and rented a high‑performance amphibious aircraft to demonstrate to them the creative itinerary planning you can do with small cruise ships in areas like the Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
“So we were able to take off on wheels, land on floats in Parry Sound right in the harbour, and in Little Current, land on wheels in Sault Ste. Marie where we exchanged aircraft for a fast twin‑engine Beechcraft to fly up to the lake head in Thunder Bay, to Duluth, Detroit, Erie, Toledo and back to Toronto. We wanted to showcase the Great Lakes as a magnificent freshwater cruise destination.
“At the end of this, our guests were shaking their heads. They were stunned at not only the physical beauty of our Great Lakes, but also at the amount of culture in the region. They were brainstorming itineraries and concepts – to see just what the economic opportunity was – as they were touring! We are reaping the rewards of this now.”
To do that, a few issues must be addressed. One involves compliance with security regulations. The complexity of clearing a ship after it has been to Canada or the US is daunting and there are some cruise lines that said outright it is too difficult to contemplate.
“We are just going to run an all‑Canadian itinerary or an all‑US itinerary,” they said according to Burnett. “That is not the best way to approach it, unfortunately, as the best itineraries are those that feature both countries because both have a lot to give; for example, one of the most exciting cruises is going from Toronto to Chicago.
"We have been executing this business plan for the last seven years. It is a tremendous challenge because the Great Lakes doesn’t really have a home‑grown cruise industry (cruise ships generally follow the sun). However, there is real growth in the works, suggesting the best is yet to come."
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