Recent statistics concerning cruise passenger traffic underscores the ripple effect Hurricane Katrina continues to have on the Gulf region, months after the disaster struck.
According to a report from the U.S. Maritime Administration, Gulf ports saw a 27 percent decline in cruise passengers in the third quarter of 2005. Particularly affected was New Orleans, which had been one of the fastest-growing ports for cruises, the report states. It experienced a 46 percent decline in cruise passengers.
For the first nine months of 2005, cruise passenger traffic in North America was five percent above the same period in 2004, despite the impact of the hurricanes. Data also shows that cruise passenger traffic is up 18.5 percent over the same period in 2003. Fifteen out of the 17 cruise lines analyzed in the report showed an increase in traffic in 2005.
Detailed information on these figures can be obtained from the Maritime Administration's web site, www.marad.dot.gov.
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