Let the summer games begin. Cruise ships are returning to Victoria. More ships lead to more buses, noise and pollution. But wait, these ships bring great economic benefit to Victoria - or do they?

The Feb. 17 Times Colonist article headlined "Cruise ship visits expected to hit a record high" misses several key points.

Although ship visits in 2012 increase by nine per cent to 229, the hours that ships are in port increase by only 0.7 per cent. The average time that ships are in port falls to seven hours.

Evening hours increase while daytime hours decrease. Two-thirds (151) of visits are evening calls of fewer than six hours' duration, now involving five evenings each week. Those disembarking from these ships are unlikely to have more than four hours to spend money in Victoria, and then only if they miss their last on-board, paid-for dinner.

Evening calls, frequently three at once, are more disruptive of neighbourhood peace and quiet than daytime calls, while the economic impact of daytime calls is larger than for evening calls. The cruise ship schedule is moving in the wrong direction. The schedule serves Seattle well, the home port to which 193 of the 229 calls depart, but not Victoria. (Seattle will have 201 cruise ship calls, and Vancouver 191.)

Statistics gathered this past summer indicate that, on average, 58 to 60 per cent of a ship's complement comes ashore, varying from 64 to 71 per cent for daytime ships and 53 to 58 per cent for evening ships. For passengers, taken separately, 72 to 74 per cent disembark, with larger daytime proportions than evening.

Taking these disembarkation percentages into account, the economic impact is much smaller than asserted by the cruise industry, which bases its estimates on the assumption that all passengers and crew come ashore. In total, all 229 cruise ship visits bring no more economic activity annually to Victoria than does the Coho ferry.

When properly assessed, the economic benefits, which accrue to select businesses, fall short of the socio-environmental costs borne by residents, reconfirming the conclusion reached in my report Victoria as a Port-of-Call: The Costs and Benefits of Cruise Ship Visits (March 2011). The number of cruise ship calls needs to be optimized, taking timing into consideration, rather than maximized. Quality trumps quantity.

Environmental disruptions continue in Victoria and neighbourhoods affected by cruise ship visits. On average, every cruise ship call generates 384 additional vehicle movements along Dallas Road near Ogden Point, of which 42 are large highway-sized buses. When three ships call together, these numbers are tripled, with about 120 buses headed out from, and back to, Ogden Point during the evening.

Along Dallas Road and other heavily trafficked streets on three-cruise ship evenings, average hourly noise, perceived during the 5: 30 to 11: 30 p.m. period, increases by 50 to 80 per cent and comes on top of high baseline noise levels.

Sulphur dioxide emissions from cruise ships percolate Victoria's air space, frequently at unhealthy levels. Asthmatics and others with respiratory problems in the Songhees, downtown and James Bay need to take precautionary measures.

Mitigation of environmental impacts is overdue.

Dr. Richard Stanwick, chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, recommended in a 2010 report "adoption of lease language by the Victoria Harbour Authority to require the - use of lower sulphur fuel [one per cent] by cruise ships while approaching, berthing and departing Victoria Harbour."

On-board fuel quality monitoring by Transport Canada is required and at least three air-quality monitoring stations are needed in the harbour area, given wind direction and speed variability.

The James Bay Neighbourhood Association requested schedule changes away from the three-ship 6 p.m.tomidnight schedule to a staggered daytime schedule to soften the traffic impacts, respect "quiet hours" and generate longer daytime passenger visits.

JBNA advocated phasing out large highway buses to transport passengers the two kilometres to downtown Victoria and farther into the region. These buses carry about 58 per cent of all disembarking persons (an average of 1,145 persons per ship visit). Alternative transportation could include watercraft transfers. Walking is strongly recommended.

Leadership and commitment to the well-being of residents and the city are required. Victoria needs to define the role that cruise ships play in our lives and not be subservient to this multibillion-dollar offshore industry.

Brian L. Scarfe is a professional economist with a foot in both the academic and consultant camps.