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International cruise ships ban costs Australia A$2bn

The ban on international cruise ships since March will cost the Australian economy A$2bn by the end of December.

Helen Hutcheon, Australasia correspondent

November 30, 2020

1 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

This is according to the annual Economic Impact Assessment commissioned by the Australian Cruise Association and Cruise Lines International Association Australasia.

A further A$3bn at risk

CLIA Australasia MD Joel Katz said another A$3bn is at risk across the economy if the cruise suspension continues into 2021.

Small businesses

‘It is no secret the sector has been devastated by COVID-19, but the impact is also being felt by the many thousands of small businesses, especially in regional communities that rely on a thriving cruise industry,’ he said.

‘These include travel agents, fresh food suppliers, tour operators, hotels, bus companies, baggage handlers, Aussie entertainers and the thousands of other businesses across the country which rely on the cruise industry.’

Lost visitation

Australian Cruise Association CEO Jill Abel said the 2019-20 report, conducted by AEC Group Ltd, research consultants operating in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific, highlights the impact of lost visitation from the more than 1,000 cruise ship visits made around Australia each year.

Abel said some of these ports and destinations are ‘crying out’ for more visitors to support their economic recovery.

‘More than 2.9 million passenger visit days were recorded to 42 different ports around Australia during the 2019-20 summer cruise season, bringing economic benefit to some of the furthest regions of the country,’ she said.

‘Passenger spending in destinations around Australia alone totals more than A$1.1bn, while cruise lines spend more than A$1bn in Australia over a year.’

The release of the Economic Impact Assessment coincides with a call to the Australian government to replace the cruise ship ban with a conditional process that would allow a carefully managed resumption of cruising in 2021.

About the Author

Helen Hutcheon

Australasia correspondent

Helen Hutcheon did her cadetship on a shipping magazine and worked in P&O’s Sydney office for seven years as a public relations journalist.

For 19 years she was deputy editor of Travel Week, which was Australia’s leading trade newspaper that covered major local and international industry events.

In 2008 the late legendary Rama Rebbapragada presented her with an award from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ‘in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cruising industry.’

In 2010 she won the Neil Frazer Award for ‘outstanding contribution to the cruise industry,’ elevating her to CLIA Australasia’s hall of fame.

She has been the Australasia correspondent for Seatrade Cruise Review since 1997 and for Seatrade Insider (now Seatrade Cruise News) since its launch in 2000.

 

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