Vancouver residents might find it more challenging than usual to find a cab in Vancouver on Saturday (May 20).

That's because a record number of Alaska-bound cruise-ship passengers are expected to arrive at Canada Place.

Nearly 16,000 tourists will embark and disembark between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on that day from the Emerald Princess, Star Princess, and Nieuw Amsterdam at that location.

It's good news for Gastown shops and restaurants because many of these tourists will no doubt head toward the city's oldest and best-preserved historic neighbourhood.

"As a result, higher than normal traffic volumes are anticipated in the downtown core, along with increased demand for taxis and public transportation," the Port of Vancouver states on its website. "In an effort to accommodate the additional passengers, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which manages the Canada Place Cruise Terminal, is working with cruise lines, the City of Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver taxi companies and other transportation service providers and surrounding Canada Place stakeholders to raise awareness about the significantly increased demand."

This year, the city is expected to host 840,000 cruise-ship passengers arriving on 237 vessels. That's a two percent increase in the number of passengers who came in 2016.