CRUISE SHIP STUDY BILL FILED FOR THE 83RD TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION
I have filed the Cruise Industry Study bill. It is extremely important to keep people and the state talking about the importance of bringing the cruise industry to the South Texas coast line. For those of you interested in tracking the Cruise Industry Study bill during the 83rd Legislative session, the bill is filed as House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 56.
HCR 56 requests that the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives provide for a joint interim legislative study regarding the development of the cruise industry , including the potential economic impact of a cruise industry on the Texas coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties including Aransas, Nueces and San Patricio counties and added options for incentives to attract the industry. This session as part of the study we are going to include a review of possible incentives such as tax breaks or infrastructure assistance, that could be provided to the cruise industry in order to encourage them to look in to adding new departure points out Texas. It is important for Texas to look at methods and options which will encourage the cruise industry into increasing their ports of departure in the State of Texas.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, in 2011 the cruise industry accounted for approximately $40.4 billion in gross output in the United States as a result of spending by the cruise lines and their crew and passengers. The billions in economic generation resulted in roughly 347,787 jobs resulting in $16.5 billion in wages and salaries. The North American cruise industry accounted for $18.9 billion in direct spending from the cruise lines and their passengers. This direct spending resulted in the generation of approximately 145,835 direct jobs which provided them with $6.2 billion in wages and salaries.
While the cruise industry represents a significant economic impact through gross output and direct spending in North American, some areas of the country receive more of the benefits than others. In 2011, Florida represented in the neighborhood of 35.3 percent of the entire cruise lines direct expenditures in North American, followed by California which has approximately 9.9 percent, New York which has roughly 6.6 percent and Texas which has around 6 percent. These percentages account for billions of dollars in direct spending to these individual states. With Florida controlling such a large part of the cruise line market, they are able to provide for approximately 130,950 jobs. Additionally it produced nearly $6.66 billion in direct expenditures in 2011 alone. Cruising at Florida’s ports generated approximately 8.9 million passenger and crew visits, which resulted in roughly $923 million in onshore spending. Texas, by comparison, has roughly 6 percent or $1.127 billion in direct expenditures and as a result has substantial room to grow. Our cruise industry provides for 17,316 jobs. Approximately 655,000 passengers and crew visits accounted for 3 percent of all passenger and crew visits in the United States and provided $45.2 million in passenger and crew onshore spending.
While these figures are the result of 16.3 million individuals traveling in 2011, the Cruise Line International Association estimates that this year 17.6 million people will take out to sea on a cruise ship. With a growing cruise industry, Texas stands poised to capture more of the overall cruise industry market share and compete with California and Florida, to be the cruise traveler’s designation of choice.
If you have questions or comments regarding any of the information about the cruise industry mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter currently represents Part of Nueces County. I can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
