MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cruise industry booming in Australia, the fourth largest source market

A record 41 ships from CLIA member cruise lines would be based in Australia or visiting local waters between October 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017

Australia will welcome an unprecedented number of cruise ships this summer, with more than 40 vessels sailing in local waters - including eight ships making their maiden visit over the next few months. Among the flotilla will be the largest ship to visit Australia, Royal Caribbean’s 167,000-ton Ovation of the Seas, as well as the youngest and most luxurious ship ever to cruise Oceania waters, the boutique Seabourn Encore, which will arrive two weeks after it is officially named in Singapore.

 This season also includes the first ever round trip cruise to South America from Australia - an 84-night cruise by Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess departing Sydney on January 11, 2017

Detailing the upcoming peak cruise season, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia Commercial Director Brett Jardine said a record 41 ships from CLIA member cruise lines would be based in Australia or visiting local waters between October 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017, compared to 38 ships over the same period last year.

Between them, the ships will make almost 900 calls to ports around Australia over that period – up 10% on last year’s port calls numbers.

“With more than half the ships (23) offering return cruises from our shores, Australians will be able to take advantage of almost 400 roundtrip itineraries from local ports, a 20 percent rise on last summer’s offerings,” he said.

Jardine said the record season reflected the continuing surge in Australian cruise passenger numbers as well as the nation’s growing popularity as an international cruise destination. Australia is the fourth largest source market for cruise passengers in the world with official CLIA figures showing more than one million Australians took a cruise in 2015, a 14.6% increase on the previous year. Australian cruise passenger numbers have grown by almost 20% annually over the past decade.

”It’s going to be an exciting summer for communities around Australia as they welcome these wonderful ships and share in the $3.6 billion in economic benefits that flow from cruise tourism in Australia annually,” Jardine said.