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Dartmouth cruise ship terminal popular idea in tourism industry

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Cruise ships are a common site on the Halifax waterfront. As part of their long-term plan, the Port of Halifax would like to see them also tying up on the Dartmouth side of the harbour.

“It’s going to get some of the heavy traffic volumes that we see on a busy cruise day in Halifax, more evenly distributed to the other side,” says the Port of Halifax’s communications coordinator Emily Richardson.

A few areas are being looked into but no location has been chosen, nor is there a timeline.

But infilling of the ocean terminals will soon eliminate a couple of births, meaning incoming ships will have to go somewhere else.

The very idea of cruise vessels docking in Dartmouth has some excited by the opportunity they would bring.

“A cruise ship terminal would bring increased opportunities for downtown Dartmouth. There would be more people here, particularly in the fall, which is the shoulder season,” says Tim Risessco, the CEO of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission.

Tour operators say currently, buses picking up passengers in Halifax don’t like to cross the bridges because of the unpredictability of traffic. A Dartmouth terminal could open up a number of possibilities for trips to eastern parts of Nova Scotia.

“Cruise ships going to that location will open up an entirely new part of the province for cruise ship shore excursions,” says Dennis Campbell, CEO of Ambassatours.

There would also be a more direct route for excursions to the Annapolis Valley.

Campbell attended the cruise ship show in Miami in April, where he says the Dartmouth terminal was discussed.

“They reacted way better than we thought and they were very excited about it. They get it that it’s going to unlock a whole other wealth of opportunities for experiences for their guests,” Campbell says.

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