PORTLAND (AP) – The port of Portland is attracting larger cruise ships than ever, helping the city draw a record number of cruise-ship passengers this year.

Cruise ships brought 45,225 passengers to the port in 2005, giving a boost to businesses reliant on tourism.

But as the passenger count is going up, the number of visiting cruise ships is going down. Twenty-nine ships stopped in Portland this year, down 45 percent from the peak year of 2001, according to Jeff Monroe, the city’s transportation director.

But the average ship these days carries around 2,000 passengers. Between 1989 and 1999, the typical cruise ship visiting Portland carried fewer than 1,000 passengers.

For businesses that cater to cruise ship tourists, what matters is the number of free-spending passengers that stop in the city. City officials figure each passenger contributes about $200 to the local economy.

“They were spending money and spending more money,” said Dan DiMillo, one of the six DiMillo brothers who work at DiMillo’s Restaurant and marina. “It was all very good for us.”

The rise in cruise ship passengers coming to Portland is a help given the city’s loss of the Scotia Prince ferry, which ran between Portland and Nova Scotia for years before canceling its 2005 season following a dispute with Portland over the city-owned marine terminal.

A new ferry service, the Cat, is expected to begin service from Portland to Nova Scotia next summer.

For now, the number of cruise ships visiting Portland will continue to increase over the next three years, said Sandy Needham, who has been hired this year by Portland, Freeport and Kennebunkport to market the region to cruise ships.

Monroe said he’d like to position Portland as a jumping-off point for cruise ships heading to Atlantic Canada.

And he think the completion of the Ocean Gateway passenger terminal in 2007 will help the city attract more ships.

“Having a modern facility is one of the biggest issues,” he said. “They are not overly excited about the old pier where we have them tied up now.”

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-11-16-05 0216EST