30K cruise ship passengers to descend on Vancouver this weekend

The Port of Vancouver is warning locals that throngs of cruise ship passengers will descend upon downtown this weekend.

The port authority says a total of 30,000 people from six ships will arrive at Canada Place on Saturday and Sunday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

"As a result, higher than normal traffic volumes are anticipated in the downtown core, along with increased demand for taxis and public transportation," the port said in a written statement.

Next weekend, a total of 21,500 passengers from nine ships are expected to embark and disembark in the same spot.

The port authority is cautioning passengers to prepare for longer than usual wait times to get on their ship, and to not arrive too early at Canada Place in order to avoid adding to the congestion. It's also suggesting that disembarking passengers plan for heavy traffic to exit the city.

More than one million passengers from 290 ships are expected during the 2019 cruise season, the port authority says, which represents a 21-per-cent increase from the year before.

The Port of Vancouver says the cruise ship industryinjects $3 million into Vancouver's economy each year for each ship that visits Canada Place.