PortsToronto welcomed the M/V Victory II, a 200-passenger luxury cruise ship, into the Port of Toronto, marking the ship's first visit to Toronto and inaugural voyage on the Great Lakes.
 
The arrival of the M/V Victory II into the Port of Toronto underscores the importance of the ever-growing Great Lakes cruise ship business and the role it plays in contributing to Toronto's booming tourism industry. This message was echoed in an exchange of plaques between Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, and Bruce Nierenberg, Chairman of Victory Cruise Lines.
 
Last year, a record 16 passenger cruise ships carrying 5,700 passengers, visited PortsToronto's Cruise Ship Terminal - a more than 120 per cent increase in cruise ship traffic since 2016. This season, 21 ships are expected to make Toronto a port of call, an increase of approximately 31 per cent. Visitors arriving through the Port of Toronto contributed to a record year for tourism in the City of Toronto, with more than 43.7 million tourists making Toronto a destination in 2017.