DULUTH — More than 4,000 cruise passengers visited Duluth in 2023 resulting in $600,000 in economic impact for the city, according to officials at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, which has a customs facility on site.
Duluth port drew thousands of Great Lakes cruise passengers this year
Travelers on Lake Superior resulted in a $600,000 economic impact for the city, according to DECC officials.
November 26, 2023 at 1:00PM
"The lion's share of these guests would not be visiting our community otherwise and now they know of this great place we call Duluth," DECC director Dan Hartman said in a news release.
There were four ships that came through the Duluth Harbor, including the Ocean Navigator, Octantis, Polaris and Hanseatic Inspiration. Florida based American Queen Voyages, which owns Ocean Navigator, announced earlier this year that is ending its Great Lakes tours in favor of river cruises.
More than 25,000 passengers visited ports on the Great Lakes in the past year — a 20% increase from 2022, according to Cruise the Great Lakes, a regional marketing initiative.
Cruises resumed travel through this part of Lake Superior in May 2022. Before that, it had been nearly a decade since the last cruise ship docked in Duluth.
The proposal suggests removing the 20-year protection on the Superior National Forest that President Joe Biden’s administration had ordered in 2023.
