Business and Finance

NOLA CRUISE DIRECTOR WINS AAPA AWARD

Former Port of New Orleans Cruise and Tourism Director Robert Jumonville received the 2015 American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Cruise Award during the AAPA biennial Cruise Seminar in Fort Lauderdale Florida in February.

The AAPA cited Jumonville as being the vision behind the phenomenal growth of the Port of New Orleans’ cruise passenger business and its terminal and cruise-related visitor assets. Under Jumonville’s watch the Port of New Orleans invested more than $75 million in cruise facilities and saw a 1200-percent rise in passenger throughput. Revenue produced by the Cruise and Tourism Division increased more than 500 percent during his tenure. In 2014 the Port handled more than one million cruise passengers for the first time in its history. Embarkations and disembarkations for the year totaled 1014325 a fourth straight record year for the Port.

Jumonville who retired in January after 25 years at the Port oversaw the planning and construction of the Julia Street Cruise Terminal a consolidation of two terminals into one modern terminal completed in 2011. Jumonville was  also instrumental in the design and construction of the Erato Street Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage Complex the first cruise terminal in the industry to include a parking garage in the same building. Looking forward Jumonville was also an integral part in the planning of the Port’s third cruise ship terminal at Poland Avenue.