Number of Vacationers Using Harbor Up in ’96

The number of cruise line passengers using the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro is up 30% over last year.

The cruise center was used by 945,180 passengers in fiscal 1996 compared with 725,970 last year. That makes the Port of Los Angeles the busiest cruise port on the West Coast with most cruise lines going to Mexico.

The cruise business took a nose-dive during the early 1990s, when California’s economy slowed and fewer people had the money for such luxuries, said Karen Tozer, marketing manager for Worldport LA.

“We’ve seen the whole market turn around in terms of vacation,” she said.

In fiscal year 1994, 849,237 passengers used the port for cruises, down considerably from the 920,537 passengers who used it in 1993.

Three cruise ships are docked in Los Angeles Harbor. Each ship carries 1,600 to 1,800 passengers; the vast majority of cruises are to Mexico.