It doesn’t have the name recognition of destinations like Nassau, Bahamas or Juneau, Alaska, but cruise ship tourism is alive and well in Saint John, New Brunswick.

In 2013, 64 cruise ships carrying 166,616 passengers visited this city of 70,000 people and cruise ship tourism contributes an estimated $25-to-$30 million annually to the local economy. The provincial government is keen to see cruise ship traffi c, and the economic impact it generates, increase here. In February, the government announced it would provide $100,000 annually to the Port of Saint John from 2014-2016 to help it become a home port for cruise ships. In March, the port got some more good news as Rhode Islandbased Blount Small Ship Adventures announced it will start a Bay of Fundy cruise from Saint John’s port in the summer of 2015.

Blount is the fi rst company to make Saint John its home port, meaning it will serve as a base to support the operation of a ship, for what are called expedition-class ships. The vessels differ from the giant ships that typically visit the city carrying up to 3,000 passengers in that they normally carry 50 to 200 passengers and are often geared toward adventurers with specific interests.

While there aren’t nearly as many people on expedition-class vessels as the bigger cruise ships, they tend to spend twice as much in the home port. According to a recent feasibility study examining the possibility of making Saint John a home port for cruise ships (commissioned by the Port of Saint John and New Brunswick’s Department of Tourism), during a typical eight-to-10 hour stop passengers spend an average of $60 to $80 in the city. However, the study says when passengers start their journey in Saint John they spend up to twice these amounts because they often stay at least one night in a hotel and incur expenses related to meals and other incidentals.