Downtown Vancouver is set to experience increased crowds and traffic between Friday, Aug. 4 and Monday, Aug. 7 thanks to a massive influx of visitors aboard cruise ships.
An estimated 50,000 cruise ship passengers are estimated to pass through the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver this B.C. Day long weekend.
People in the downtown Vancouver area can expect higher than normal pedestrian and vehicle traffic volumes along with an increased demand for taxis and public transport between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., which is when most cruise ship passengers arrive and depart.
“Seeing as the great weather is bringing all of us out and about, we want to ensure that tourists and locals planning to visit Canada Place and nearby areas over the next few weeks be informed so they can plan ahead and prepare for crowds and increased traffic," said Mandy Chan, cruise services manager at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in a press release.
Sunday and Monday are expected to be the busiest days in the area, with an estimated 15,000 passengers and 13,000 passengers arriving and departing from Canada Place's cruise terminal, respectively.
Vancouver on track for record cruise season
Vancouver remains on the path for a record cruise season in 2023, with over 740,000 passengers passing through the Canada Place cruise terminal in the first four months (April to July) of the cruise season.
That's significantly more than the 438,000 passengers who passed through the cruise terminal over the same period in 2022.
“All indications are that we are on track for a banner year for cruises in 2023, as tourists and cruise passengers return to the region and the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver," said Chan.
