Here's why Downtown Vancouver will be way busier than usual this week
Cruise ships and a massive convention are combining to make this week a busy one for downtown Vancouver residents and visitors.
Seventeen cruise ships will stop in the Port of Vancouver between Monday, May 26 and Sunday, June 1, as part of the peak travel season.
From now until Sept. 22, 35,000 to almost 50,000 people are expected to pass through the Canada Place terminal every Monday to Friday.
The Port of Vancouver expects 300 ship calls and 1.2 million visits from passengers this year.
A Holland America cruise ship passing under the Lions Gate Bridge. (Shutterstock)
The busiest days at the cruise ship terminal will be Saturday and Sunday, when seven ships will arrive and depart. They include:
- Sapphire Princess
- Koningsdam
- Seven Seas Mariner
- Viking Venus
- Celebrity Solstice
- Serenade of the Seas
- Nieuw Amsterdam
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority previously shared that most cruise ship passenger arrivals and departures happen between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. That is when higher pedestrian and vehicle traffic volumes can occur in addition to increased demand for taxis, carshares, and public transit.
The City of Vancouver is also testing one-way vehicle circulation on Canada Place between Howe and Burrard streets until December 2025.
Drivers will be able to enter the new one-way zone via Howe Street, with options to exit at Burrard or Thurlow Street.
Web Summit Vancouver
Huge crowds will also be coming downtown this week for Web Summit Vancouver, which is bringing some of the biggest names in tech to the city.
The four-day event will bring over 15,000 global entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and media to the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The event is organized by Web Summit, which also holds large-scale technology conferences worldwide in cities like Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, and Doha. Vancouver’s event will be the first Web Summit in North America.
It’s not just global names that will be attending, as over 300 B.C. companies will be showcased, highlighting how important the tech sector is to the province’s economic and innovative growth.
With files from Amir Ali and Daily Hive Staff