THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST IS RIGHT FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE CRUISE INDUSTRY
House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 56 is the cruise industry study bill which I was proud to have the opportunity to file during the 83nd Regular Legislative Session. This resolution was filed as a result of numerous town hall meetings in the past which I had the pleasure to host throughout District 32. The most common theme I received at the town hall meetings was, “Why has the cruise industry not expanded to the South Texas coastline?”
The discussion about bringing the cruise industry to the South Texas coast has been on the minds of people for many years. HCR 56 will hopefully help bring the cruise ship industry one step closer to recognizing that the South Texas coastline is a great location to open additional ports of departure. HCR 56 specifically calls for the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to provide for a joint interim legislative study to analyze the development of a cruise industry. The study would look at the Texas coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties and review its potential economic impact.
According to a cruise industry overview performed by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, a record number of an estimated 21 million passengers took cruises in 2014. Of that roughly 21 million, approximately 12 million were out of North America. This increase in passengers has resulted in a large impact on the annual occupancy of the cruise ships. The cruise industry has also added approximately 15 new ships to their lines. The recent large annual increase shows a clear desire of people to take advantage of sea travel.
Utilizing a 2012 economic report compiled by the Cruise Line International Association, North American cruise lines, their employees and passengers produced approximately $42 billion in gross economic output in the United States. The cruise industry also generated over 356,000 jobs paying out $17.4 billion in wages and salaries. It is clear that the cruise industry could possibly represent a significant economic boost to South Texas if the cruise industry would choose to locate a departure point out of one of the ports located between Calhoun County and Cameron County.
By providing a state interim legislative study, the State of Texas can begin to outline the benefits of the economic impact that can be generated in the Coastal Bend by the development of the cruise industry. At the end of the day, South Texas represents one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. Along with the population in the region and its surrounding areas, it offers a robust tourism industry, a wealth of natural resources and a number of ports which could be used to host a cruise line.
As a reminder, the 84th Texas Legislative session is fast approaching and will be back in session in January of 2015. As always, I want to hear your ideas and suggestions as we get closer the start of next session. These ideas and information are important forms of feedback and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact my office.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. 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 represents Nueces (Part) County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
