A nice article about the Port of Galveston and how it has grown appeared in the Daily News in Galveston today.

Isle port riding a wave of success

By Greg Barr
The Daily News
Published August 4, 2006

While “We’re No. 1” may be the universal rallying cry of success, Port of Galveston officials are thrilled with the idea of being No. 11.

In its annual ranking of cruise ports, industry trade publication Lloyds Cruise International has moved Galveston up one notch closer to being among the top 10 worldwide.

In North American rankings, Galveston is No. 5, while perennial cruise industry leader Miami remains No. 1, the same ranking it retained in the world. Galveston is also now the industry’s top Gulf of Mexico homeport for Caribbean operations.

The announcement was made by Port Director Steve Cernak on Thursday at a luncheon aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines’ ship Ecstasy, a few hours before the vessel set sail for another cruise.

This year, 600,000 passengers will come through Galveston’s two cruise terminals, showing continued strong growth from 2005, when 532,000 passengers strode through the turnstiles. Cruise operation revenue now accounts for about 40 percent of total port revenue.

Carnival, in particular, has made a hefty investment in Galveston’s cruise ship infrastructure, loaning $14 million to the port for terminal construction and upgrades. To date, $43 million has been invested in cruise facilities on the island.

While the Houston Port Authority prepares to open a new multimillion-dollar cruise terminal in Bayport in 2007, port officials have often stated publicly that they worry about the future of the island cruise business.

Still, Brendan Corrigan, senior vice president of cruise operations for Florida-based Carnival, said Houston would have to “pull out all the stops” if it hoped to lure Carnival away from Galveston.

“We’ve invested a lot of time and money with this port, and we’ve seen the city grow as well during the six or seven years we’ve been sailing here,” said Corrigan. “I like to think we’ve been one small part of the tremendous economic growth in the city.”

Corrigan said the fact that Galveston cruise ships can be in open Gulf waters within a matter of minutes, while ships take nearly an hour to work their way down the Houston Ship Channel is still a big advantage.

“But what our crews really like is the proximity of (downtown Galveston) and what it has to offer. They can walk off the ship and go to a restaurant or bank, and it’s like they are part of the community.”

Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, which sponsored the luncheon meeting, also released some preliminary 2006 economic impact figures for the Texas market as related to the industry.

According to the council, direct purchases as a result of cruising in Texas are now worth $934 million annually. The industry supports 15,807 jobs in the state.

While some segments of the travel industry are feeling the effects of rising energy prices that are squeezing the wallets of Americans, the cruise ship industry is still steaming ahead. The industry has enjoyed an annualized average 8 percent growth during the past 20 years, he said.

When asked about the effect that the new state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Houston might have in Galveston, Crye pointed to the fact that the industry has ordered 25 new ships under construction in Europe, and that North America now has 32 homeports.

He suggested that there is still more capacity for growth in the industry, so that Houston and Galveston could both benefit.

“Cruising is still an enormously popular vacation experience, and just because Houston is gearing up, it doesn’t mean it will come at Galveston’s expense,” he said.