Seatrade Cruise News cites UMaine study on passenger spending
A University of Maine School of Economics study on cruise passenger spending was cited in a “Seatrade Cruise News” article.
In Bar Harbor, cruise passenger spending had an estimated economic impact of $20.2 million in 2016, according to the study based on 2,231 mail surveys completed by visitors associated with 31 ship ports over 24 days between May and October. The $20.2 million is more than the $13.7 million estimated in spending in 2005 and the $12.1 million in 2002, according to the article. Bar Harbor town manager Cornell Knight said the spending would support 379 jobs — full, part-time and seasonal. The study calculated 138,285 passengers —highly educated, affluent, and most at least 50 years old — went ashore. The study reported 60 percent of respondents visited Acadia National Park and 46 percent took an excursion. Of those, about 86 percent shopped and 72 percent ate in town, spending an average of $108, according to the article.