Business strong, but cruise terminal for Jacksonville on hold - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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Since the authority pulled back on its pursuit in the infrastructure bond markeft has improved and ships are being filled with passengers despitecruise opponents’ warningt that the recession would cripple the But authority board chairmam William Mason said his priority is getting Ltd’s $208 million terminalo online, which is expected to be open at the site of the curreng cruise terminal in 2012. “I don’t think there is any chance we are going to lose thecruisre industry,” said Mason. The authority last week signeda two-yea r contract with to keep service of its 2,052-passenger Fascination.
Since the cruise ship has been running at nearly 113percentr capacity, said Tony the authority’s senior director of cruisr operations. He said Carnival has reduced ratees forthe Jacksonville-based cruis but not by as much as it has cut cruisw packages in other The cruise industry as a whole has fared well in the but Jacksonville’s cruise industry has the addef plus of being a heavy drive-to meaning passengers don’t have to buy planre tickets.
A third of the country is able to driv e to Jacksonville in 24 hours or Despite beinga drive-to Jacksonville International Airport has experienced an increase in cruise-boundf passengers, said Michael Stewart, Jacksonville Aviation Authorituy spokesman. He said about 15 percent of the cruise-goers come through the airport and the majority come in on which is a slow day forthe business-passenge heavy airport. Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin said the latest construction of a new cruis terminal could start isApril 2012.
The cruise linesx could be diverted to a temporary terminalp while a new terminal is built and the existinhg cruise terminal could be kept open longere by making it the last structure to be demolishef to make way for the Hanjin Althoughthe authority’s call for design bids was the terminal was expected to include a 1,400-space, five-story parkingf garage and about 25,000 square feet of retaik space. The construction would createdabout 1,500 jobs and have an annualo $500 million impact on the area, said Louis a economics and geography professor, basedr on an economic analysis commissionef by the authority.
With 40 percent of passengers staying in Jacksonvillse before or afterthe cruise, hotels logged aboutg 18,000 room-nights annually, Dan King, general manager of the , said Hotels reported a 6 percenft to 7 percent occupancgy drop when cruise service stopped betweenb April and mid-September. Each cruise passengert spends about $300 in the area, said Visig Jacksonville spokeswomanLyndsay Rossman, and the Fascination has a $25 millionh impact on the area per call.