Lawmakers on the bipartisan Joint Interim Committee to Study the Cruise Industry heard testimony from a crowd of attendees including the mayors and port officials of Corpus Christi and surrounding cities, and business and tourism leaders who mostly extolled the benefits of a business that brings jobs and revenues to Texas.
The committee is studying the potential economic impact and options for incentives to attract the cruise business to south Texas.
According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Mayor Nelda Martinez testified the area is 'ready-made for cruise ships.' She cited its good highway connections and a region that's home to 4.8m people, where employment growth is fast outpacing the national rate.
The Caller-Times said 26 people testified Thursday, 'overwhelmingly' promoting the region's potential to supply passengers and employees to support the growing cruise business.
Nearby Galveston has thrived as a cruise homeport, however Houston didn't fare so well. After building dedicated cruise facilities and hosting the ships of a couple lines, Houston is currently out of the passenger business.
Galveston handled 900,000 passenger and crew visits in 2013, accounting for $1.2bn in direct spending, and cruising generated more than 20,000 Texas jobs paying $1.6bn in wages, according to a joint resolution by the Texas House and Senate passed in 2015 that established the Joint Interim Committee.
The resolution also noted the coast south of Galveston, between Calhoun and Cameron counties, has 'several growing cities, robust tourism and a wealth of natural resources.' This 150-mile stretch has three major deepwater ports, 'any of which might be a viable site for a cruise line headquarters or port of embarkation.'
Corpus Christi has a facility that can serve cruise ships but a bridge has limited the size of vessels that can call. A massive project is going to replace that bridge with one that has a much higher air draft.
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