Ships Ahoy, Tourism be hoisting a sail in TD

The Fort Dalles Floozies are at it again as Cruise Ships are filling up and bringing tourist dollars to The Dalles.

By Tom Peterson

Museum operators and Floozies are back in business. 

The Queen of the West docked this morning at 10 a.m. and some 78 passengers disembarked for a tour of our little corner of the world. 

Fort Dalles Museum Director Cal McDermid and friends.

“It’s wonderful,” said Cal McDermid, Director of the Fort Dalles Museum. “We’re getting back in our routine. We’re greeting people and telling our stories again.”

We are into our fourth week of cruise ships returning to The Dalles, said Sarah Mall with The Dalles Mainstreet. “We’re having ships come in 2 and 3 a week,” she said. 

In the beginning, they had just 30 passengers. “Today we had 78,” she said while greeting visitors and handing out goodie bags as they took off on bus or walking tours. It’s exciting to see more people coming in.”

The Cruise ships have provided a nice injection of cash for the community as thousands in past years have toured the town, bought food, gifts and even carriage rides.

Carrie Swearingen trotted the streets in her Classic Carriage this morning, showing off the historic Trevitt Guest House on Fourth Street.

Plus they’re keeping our Fort Dalles Floozies gainfully employed.  

Conservative estimates put 15,000 cruise-ship tourists on the streets of The Dalles in 2019, according to The Dalles Mainstreet Program.

And they had money.

“Last tourist season was incredible,” said Luise Langheinrich back in 2019. She runs a clothing boutique, Lines of Design at 107 E. 2nd St. “We had about a 20 percent increase just from tourists on those days.”

The same tourists visited the Discovery Center, Fort Dalles Museum and the National Neon Sign Museum. Neon Sign Operator David Benko estimated they had between 8,000 and 10,000 people from cruise ships cross their threshold.

This morning, Benko was also on hand and noted visitation is increasing for his establishment as well. 

Cruise Ships often need goods and services as well. One ship bought $2,500 in alcohol alone several years ago.

Prior to COVID, Mainstreet was predicting tour boat numbers for 2020 at 126.

McDermit said they could still use a little help at Fort Dalles. He said there was room for six more volunteers that could commit to four hours per week.

For more information, contact the Museum at (541)-296-4547

“It helps to have a little more revenue,” Mcdermid added. 

Efforts at the Museum did not subside during the pandemic. Rather, McDermit said the grounds are in great shape and new collections have been put on display.

David Benko at the National Neon Sign Museum