Odell was unveiling ‘Cruise Tourism’s Contribution to the Australian Economy 2016/17,’ an independent report commissioned by CLIA Australasia that revealed the Australian cruise industry’s national economic output surged by 15.4% in 2016/17 to reach A$5.3bn, up from A$4.6bn in 2015/16.
Cruise line expenditure exceeded A$1.5bn, up 12% on the previous year, while direct passenger expenditure rose 19.8% to almost A$1.2bn.
With a record 58 cruise ships sailing local waters in 2016/17 and more than half offering local itineraries, there was a 19% increase in cruise ship visit days to 1,401 in total. Ship visit days for homeported vessels increased by 14.5% while transit ship visit days jumped 23%.
Highlighting the value of homeported ships, the report found that passengers spent on average A$527 a day in a port before or after their cruise, compared to A$153 during a transit day, adding up to a total of A$976m, or 85% of total passenger expenditure.
The report also found that the industry now employs 21,000 Australians each year, directly or indirectly and that it carried around 200,000 international inbound passengers, the equivalent of France and Italy’s inbound visitor numbers.
Crew spent A$39.5m at Australian cruise ports, with an average expenditure of A$95 per crew visit ashore. Operating expenses accounted for 91% of cruise line expenditure with port charges, food and beverages, fuel and travel agent commissions accounting for 63%.
According to the report, New South Wales remains the dominant cruise state, accounting for 58% of the industry’s economic contribution, but its 6% growth last year means its share has dropped 10% in just two years due to Sydney reaching capacity.
Odell said that while cruising continues to be the success story of Australian tourism, infrastructure constraints threaten further growth of the industry. He said the situation in Sydney is at crisis point.
CLIA Australasia md Joel Katz said: ‘Australia is one of the world’s most appealing cruise destinations for global cruise lines but Sydney is a big drawcard and if Sydney is full, this discourages more cruise ships from heading to our shores.’
Katz said Australia is the fifth largest market for cruise passengers in the world and last year a record number of close to 1.3m Australians took a cruise.
He said the Australian Cruise Association contributed to the single report, instead of producing its own annual survey.
Wednesday night’s reception at The Sebel Pier One, with its stunning views of Sydney Harbour, was also a celebration of CLIA Australasia’s 21st anniversary. The association was founded by Sarina Bratton as Cruise Council Australia at Seatrade Pacific 1995 in Cairns, Queensland.
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