More Great Lakes cruises stopping in Cleveland

• Tauck is planning to stop in Cleveland a total of 10 times in 2023 and 2024.

State of play: While the ship was docked, tourists spent Saturday at the Rock Hall, local craft breweries, Playhouse Square, Edgewater Park and University Circle, Tauck said in a press release.

By the numbers: By the end of 2023, roughly 50 cruise ships carrying more than 10,000 passengers will have stopped in Cleveland, including eight stops by the luxury cruise line Viking, which made its maiden Great Lakes voyage in June.

• That's up from only nine stops in 2017, signaling the rise of Great Lakes tourism and Cleveland as a maritime destination.

Zoom out: According to marketing firm Cruise the Great Lakes, 2023 is on pace to be a record-breaking year, with as many as 800 port visits and an estimated $235 million in economic impact across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River waterways.

What they're saying: "Tourism is a vital part of our local economy," said Will Friedman, the Port of Cleveland's president and CEO. "We expect to see even more cruise ships arrive in Cleveland in the next several years."