Nova Star Cruises said Thursday that its ferry, which makes daily round trips between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, during the tourist season, has received advance bookings for 43 motor coaches in 2015, despite its uncertain future.

That would be a big improvement over its recently completed inaugural season, which served an estimated 19 motor coaches, according to the company.

The ferry operator said in a news release that it expects to book even more motor coaches because company officials will attend several trade shows over the coming months.

The company says the ferry will return next season, but the service’s future ultimately will be determined by the Nova Scotia government, which allocated $23 million to support the Nova Star this season and has yet to decide the extent of its support for next year.

Nova Scotia’s minister of economic and rural development and tourism, Michel Samson, said in mid-October that there was no guarantee the Nova Star would return next season.

The government has hired a financial adviser with experience in the ferry industry to examine the company’s cost structure and develop a plan for moving forward.

Officials at Nova Star Cruises say the service didn’t attract many motor coaches this year because of its late start. The Nova Scotia government didn’t finalize the contract for the service until November 2013, and the company didn’t start selling tickets until March. Charter bus companies generally book their tours at least a year in advance.

The city of Portland collects passenger and vehicle data about the ferry, but the vehicle data has yet to be broken down by category.

The city collects the data because it charges the company a fee for using the Ocean Gateway terminal based on the number of passengers, cars, trucks, motor homes and motor coaches. For example, the company pays the city $3 for every car that boards or disembarks the ferry in Portland. The fee for motor coaches is $20.

The Nova Star traveled daily from May 15 to Oct. 13. According to records that the company provided to the city, 59,018 passengers and 19,814 vehicles traveled on the ferry. August was the busiest month, followed by July and September.

The data shows that 31,818 people traveled on the overnight trip from Portland to Yarmouth, and 27,200 traveled on the daytime trip from Yarmouth to Portland.