The Saguenay fjord has been an iconic Quebec destination for as long as anyone can remember. Since the days of the “White Ships” which cruised under steam in the 19th century, visitors have been in awe of the Saguenay River as it flows to the St. Lawrence along a deep channel flanked by towering rock cliffs. We should not be surprised that cruise lines would eventually seek – while sailing these eminently navigable waters – an opportunity to meet the people of the Saguenay region.
Priscilla Nemey is with Promotion Saguenay, the DMO tasked with cruise market development. Her team’s efforts have translated into 10 port calls in 2006, an impressive outcome given this was their inaugural season. She estimates that up until now about 60 cruise ships navigated the fjord each year – without making a port call. What changed in 2006 was the possibility for cruise lines to offer their passengers a rich array of regional tourism offerings in Chicoutimi, Jonquière and La Baie, through the use of motorcoaches.
“We realize the fjord has tremendous drawing power because it is the only such geographical feature in North America,” explains Nemey. “It is a major attraction that can be sailed westward over 100 kilometers from the St. Lawrence River itself. At the end lies a city with a population of 150,000, endowed with a mature tourism infrastructure.”
This might not seem such a striking achievement in normal circumstances, but Saguenay does not yet have a cruise ship terminal. To get to the shore, passengers have to board the cruise ships’ own tenders after the anchors have been dropped.
“To stage a more memorable experience for them, we erect giant tents as temporary shelters, to create the equivalent of a cruise ship terminal on location. It was like an ephemeral village with a market‑like atmosphere, where – to the passengers' delight – local merchants came together; members of the business community even ended up selling bear skins to visitors, with the understanding they’d have to be shipped to places like Las Vegas. It was an amazing experience for everyone!”
In many ways, 2006 proved to be a milestone, she goes on: “The bulk of our tourism season is usually made up of July and August with 1.5 million tourists annually. Visits by cruise ships in the fall allow us to lengthen our tourism season by two months. It is the equivalent of doubling the length of our summer and it allows tourism attractions to stay open later in the year.”
In other words, what used to be a more or less "dead" season is now turning into a healthy tourism autumn. The prospect for spring cruises is equally attractive, and not so unrealistic if one looks at general trends in the cruise sector. René Trépanier is the general manager of St. Lawrence Cruise Association, and has this to say: “The fact cruise lines have agreed to use tenders in Sagnenay’s case is very telling. It means that they recognize the value of this destination experience, and they know there is a multi‑million dollar pier development project underway—the cruise ship terminal is coming. In the last 20 years there has been an 8% growth per year in the cruise sector globally. The word is that at the current rate, every 44 days, a new ship will come out of shipyards over the next years.”
Trépanier credits the members of his organization (Montréal and Québec being the two major ports of call) for realizing that the health of the St. Lawrence as a cruise destination of choice hinges on relatively simple considerations: “After discussions with the cruise lines, we have come to the conclusion that the way for Montréal and Québec to increase their market share is to foster the development of new ports of call along the seaway.”
The St. Lawrence River is part of the Canada‑New England itinerary for ships leaving from New York and Boston. “The passage between Charlottetown and Québec City, for instance, is quite a stretch; ships must sail for 2 days to get there," says Trépanier. "More and more, we find they prefer to break up the journey by inserting port calls, because cruise passengers tend to shy away from long stretches (at sea).”
It seems consumers are really running the show, explains Trépanier. They want activities on a daily basis. “Therefore, in order for us to remain competitive, regions must grow their product along the itinerary.”
Not surprisingly, places like Baie‑Comeau on the north shore have a very aggressive development program, Trépanier points out. "They welcomed a ship with 900 passengers this year. Havre St. Pierre is also in the race, as is Sept‑îles, the tip of the Gaspé Péninsula, with Percé, Gaspé and Chandler, Trois‑Rivières and the Magdalen Islands. Rimouski and Tadoussac might also be included as potential ports of call, thereby contributing to the development of the greater St. Lawrence product offering."
Trépanier has high hopes for these ports, even if not all of them will be able to welcome larger cruise vessels. “The Québec Bridge is a bit of a hurdle, because of clearance restrictions, but it does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle, thanks to our two‑pronged approach. We will continue to target smaller and mid‑sized cruise ships for the Montréal destination, and there are many of them,” he reminds us. “Bear in mind that cruise lines still have worthy ships of a more manageable tonnage which can be eventually assigned to the St‑Lawrence, because we can offer them a variety of enticing smaller ports of calls. But we will target large vessels as well for ports that can handle them.”
Trépanier expects that by 2014, Montréal should almost double its passenger volume – from 35,000 to 65,000 – because of the strategy in place. “People invest in our marketing group. We leverage our collective efforts through promotional campaigns, public relations and sales on their behalf. For the province, we are at 119,000 visitors this year. In 2014 we aim for 342,000. We believe we will be well on our way to tripling the number of cruise passengers visiting our ports of calls by then.”
As evidence, Trepanier invites us to look at shipyard activities: “Pearl Seas Cruises has a ship being built in Halifax that is already featuring on its website port calls in 2008 in the Atlantic provinces and along the St. Lawrence River, often in places we might not have suspected. Fortunately, bookings in the cruise sector are done two years in advance; this means the industry gets a sense of where the wind blows early on.”
Martine Bélanger is cruise market director at the Port of Québec and president of the St. Lawrence Cruise Association: “The Mediterranean destination is likely our greatest competitor at the moment. You can’t build a three to four day itinerary on the St. Lawrence. You need a minimum of seven days when you are looking at departures form New York or Boston. The migration of cruise vessels to the Mediterranean in the fall is a challenge for us; this is why we work so hard to enrich our offering. We hope to lengthen the tourism season in the St. Lawrence not only throughout the fall, but at the beginning of spring, in May, June and July when there is a wealth of festivals going on, some of them well‑known to cruise line passengers. We will keep focusing on the fall colours itineraries, but we must demonstrate to cruise lines that there are unparalleled opportunities for them to develop compelling itineraries for their clients right here.”
The upcoming 400th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of Québec City in 2008 certainly have not harmed Bélanger’s efforts. “We have been raising awareness about the relevance of Québec’s birthday for quite a few years now. Already we expect 2008 to be a record year for Québec and the St. Lawrence destination.”
Bélanger hopes that the spirit of collaboration which has helped the St. Lawrence destination blossom the way it has continues, because the future has never looked so bright.
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