On Saturday, Portland will welcome the 100,000th cruise ship passenger to visit the city this year, officials said.

It will be the first time the city has ever reached the milestone in a single year when the AIDAmar, operated by AIDA Cruises, docks Saturday morning in Portland.

According to Jessica Grondin, a spokeswoman for Portland, the city has recorded a 6 percent increase in cruise ship passengers this year, a 10 percent increase in crew numbers and also hosted the largest cruise ship ever in Portland when the Anthem of the Seas docked in late August with 4,974 passengers and 1,480 crew.

According to a study done in 2015 that was based on 55,000 passengers, the cruise ship visits to the city had an economic impact of $5.8 million, said Bob Leeman, Cruise Portland’s marketing manager. Leeman said this year’s economic impact, based on 100,000 passengers, would be close to $11 million, and the city expects a 17 percent increase in cruise ship activity next year,.

The 100,000th passenger will be given some mementos of the city to mark the occasion during a 1 p.m. ceremony at the Portland Ocean Terminal on Commercial Street, Grondin said.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.