After seeing the money rolling into nearby New Orleans and Mobile from the cruise industry, Gulfport has decided they want a cruise ship homeported at Gulfport.
An article in the Gulfport Sun Hearld talks about the advantages and what the city is starting to do to position itself correctly. The city isn't without any experience because occasionally, ships have used the port when their regular homeport wasn't available. They have done the studies (some of which seem a little dated in their findings), and they understand what's going to make them more attractive to the cruise industry.
The one thing they don't seem to understand, however, is the tremendous competition for ships worldwide. Since the euro began to strengthen a few years ago, and cruise ships became more expensive to build, there has been a big slowdown in building and expansion of the fleets for American brands. Not only that, but at the same time, other lucrative source markets have begun to emerge around the world, so the folks in Gulfport aren't just competing just with Mobile or Charleston for a ship, but also Santos, Singapore and Perth.
If the Sun Herald article is correctly capturing the mindset of the city, unfortunately, they seem to believe that if they invest the money and do what their studies show, they will be successful and cruise lines will be anxious to homeport a ship there. Unfortunately, they can talk to a lot of ports around the country that can tell them that just isn't so. Ironically, the two nearby ports, New Orleans and Mobile, which are used in the article to demonstrate how good the cruise industry can be for a city, are also good examples of how their hopes can be frustrated too. Both cities have been pursuing the cruise lines for additional ships for a few years now without success.
