HOUSTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Port of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas welcomed 113,488 embarking passengers aboard cruise ships in December, making it the busiest month since the port began its cruise business in 2000, a press release said on Friday.

Thirty-three cruise ships called on the port in December, breaking the previous record of 29 turnarounds set in December 2005. The port also celebrated its 9 millionth passenger in December 2017.

"All indications suggest that we will continue to surpass records throughout 2018," interim Port Director Peter Simons said in the news release.

Direct expenditures due to cruise industry activity in Texas increased 6.9 percent in 2016 to 1.42 billion U.S. dollars, or 6.6 percent of the direct expenditures generated by the cruise industry nationwide, according to local media.

Those expenditures generated more than 25,000 jobs in the state with 1.62 billion dollars in combined income in 2016.