Victoria BC (Vancouver Island, Canada) welcomed a record number of cruise ship visits to the city this year, the same in which the port saw its 7-millionth passenger arrive.
The port city welcomed 239 cruise ships and 600,000 passengers in 2017, up from 224 visits and 536,000 guests last year.
The cruise season, which lasts from April through October, saw over 239,000 crew members visit the port as well.
This June, around 40 years after Victoria BC started welcoming cruise ships, the 7-millionth passenger set foot in the capital to much fanfare. She was surprised with gift certificates and flowers at Ogden Point.
Smaller boutique cruise ships have been stopping over in the port, a trend that is expected to grow as trips to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest rise in popularity.
The authority is building an extended mooring dolphin at the cruise port to accommodate a new cruise ship, 330-metre Norwegian Bliss, scheduled to make regular Alaska cruises via Victoria starting June 2018.