The tide is about to turn as far as cruise ship tours on the Great Lakes are concerned.
As a result of efforts by the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, tour operators and the Ontario Government, next year will see an increase in the number of cruise ships on the lakes.
Stephen Burnett is with the Coalition and says a intensive 8 day tour of the lakes and ports of call last month with cruise operators travel agents and tour operators is about to bear some fruit.
He says next year two new cruise operators will be offering tours on the Great Lakes and in 2010 two more vessels will be operating on the waterways.
Burnett says its quite possible that in about five years there could be up to 6 vessels operating tours on the Great Lakes during the summer and fall.
He says these ships will not be as large as the German vessel Columbus which had a 420 berth capacity and cruised the lakes for 10 seasons.
Burnett says ships will have a capacity of between 100 and 200 berths, and will have a shallower draft, which will allow them to visit remote locations that the Columbus had to avoid.
He says in order to offer cruise ships passengers attractive land based tours, the Ontario Government and the Cruising Coalition have been visiting Great Lakes port cities with educational programs to help develop interesting tours.
