Cruising contributes A$4.58bn to Australian economy

CLIA Australasia announced the findings of its third report on the contribution of cruising undertaken by independent business research organisation, Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA), on board Explorer of the Seas in Sydney Wednesday.

The report showed a 17% increase in passenger and crew visit days, which exceeded 2.8m cruise visit days.

Almost 150,000 inbound international visitors to Australia spent around A$158m.

There was an 18% increase in direct passenger expenditure in Australian port cities reaching A$959m and a 23% increase in cruise  
line expenditure exceeded A$1.3bn. Indirect and induced expenditure added a further A$2.27bn to the industry’s output.

The cruise industry directly and indirectly employed 18,700, an increase of 23% on the previous year.

CLIA Australasia’s chairman, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ svp & md Asia Pacific Steve Odell, said that while New South Wales remained the dominant cruise State, accounting for 63% of the industry’s economic contribution, its share declined from 68% in 2014-15.

Other States, particularly Queensland, have benefitted as a result of a shift to regional Australia.

Odell said the moves highlight the capacity constraints in Sydney where port infrastructure to accommodate bigger vessels is urgently  
needed.

He said there is a massive future for Australia, including seasonal deployment for Asian-based ships during the northern winter.