MONTEREY — The city of Monterey has canceled all cruise ships from entering the bay.

City Manager Hans Uslar said that out of an abundance of caution he asked cruise ship agencies Friday to cancel upcoming cruises into Monterey Bay and they complied.

All visits scheduled for March and April have been canceled. The Royal Princess has canceled visits to Monterey on March 31, April 14, and April 28. The Maasdam – Holland America cruise ship has canceled their April 29 visit

“The city of Monterey has an obligation to ensure the public health of our residents, employees and visitors, and we appreciate the cruise ship companies taking action on behalf of our request,” Uslar said.

A representative with the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau said the organization has no information on the benefits cruise ships have on the local economy. But Uslar said they contribute roughly $1.5 million annually in revenue for businesses and that fees the city charges per-passenger to disembark at the wharf supplies $140,000 to $200,000 for city coffers.

It’s a big business. Cruise ship tourism generates an estimated $18 billion a year in passenger spending globally and has been the fastest growing sector of the travel industry for the past 20 years with an average annual growth rate of passengers of 7.4%, according to a study published in the International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing.

It has increased at almost twice the rate of growth of tourism overall and this growth is expected to continue in the future.

Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson said the decision was arrived upon after city staff worked to coordinate with the Monterey County Health Department and other agencies. Roberson said that the decision was helped along after the Health Department declared a county-wide emergency because of the outbreak of the new coronavirus and from strong urging by local residents.

“The city has taken this very seriously,” Roberson said Monday. “There has been general concerns from our residents about the negative impacts of cruise ships in general, and add to that the coronavirus outbreak and it was obvious that the citizens come first.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that because of the unusual nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is advising U.S. travelers, particularly those with underlying health issues, to defer cruise ship travel.

Recent reports of COVID-19 on cruise ships highlight the risk of infection to cruise ship passengers and crew, the CDC said. “Like many other viruses, COVID-19 appears to spread more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships.”