Whats a cruise ship worth to Port Canaveral?
Local leaders say cruise passengers will grow Brevard County’s economy by each spending hundreds of dollars per day on meals, lodging and tours. But the cruise lines’ survival and long-term business strategies have depended on keeping that money for the boats. While estimates of daily per-passenger spending range from $29 to more than $400, companies like Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean are finding new ways to keep more of that spending to boost profits for stockholders. But for now, there’s a local rush for tourists. “We really don’t care how many Brevard residents have taken a cruise,” laughed Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Tourism Council. Of the out-of-town visitors, he said, 7 percent come for the cruise ships, spending an average of $432 per day and adding $88 million to the economy. By that measure, Brevard has hit the jackpot. But there are other numbers to consider. Like the 20 percent of Carnival Corp.’s $9.72 billion in yearly revenues – and growing – f
