Problems with land based infrastructure particularly in Sydney contributed to a sharp slowdown in the growth of the Australian cruise market last year, CLIA Australasia figures show.
In 2018, a total of 1.35 million Australians took a cruise, which was just 0.9% more than in the previous year. In 2017, the year on growth had been robust 4.4%.
The number of passengers starting their cruise in an Australian port rose by just 0.1% last year as a result of capacity constrains on land. Local cruising accounted for 1.03 million passengers last year, while fly cruises to destinations further afield attracted 315,000 passengers, an increase of 3.4%.
“While the local industry faces growth constraints caused by a shortage of cruise infrastructure in Sydney, the construction of a new International Cruise Terminal in Brisbane and other cruise related projects announced in Cairns, Eden and Broome are expected to reignite growth in the homeport market,” CLIA Australasia said.
“Cruise lines have already announced significant new vessel deployments in this region beginning from 2020/2021. At the same time, smaller older vessels will be replaced with newer larger ships to cater to Australian passenger demand while a solution to the Sydney infrastructure constraints is developed.”
“Although the reduced growth trend may continue in the short term into 2019, the future outlook for the Australian ocean cruise passenger market remains positive. As government and local stakeholders recognise the potential for the industry to offer an even broader and more frequent range of domestic itineraries, this will increase the contribution the industry is able to deliver to Australia’s national and regional economies<” CLIA Australasia said.
