By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Australia is on target to carry a million passengers a year by 2015, five years earlier than originally forecast.
Last year, the cruise company carried 560,000 of the total 833,348 passengers who visited Australia – around 71% – on ships across its seven brands.
“Such sustained double digit growth over more than a decade has made cruising in Australia an international phenomenon which continues to gather momentum,” said Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia. “Australians have embraced cruising because we improved the product dramatically with an onboard offering that is second to none along with an ever increasing number of destinations and cruise experiences.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association Australasia’s 2013 Cruise Industry Source Market Report, which was released in Sydney on 12 June, there was a 20% increase in passenger numbers in Australia last year.
“CLIA Australasia report confirms that the passion for cruising continues to grow and that there is capacity for even further growth,” said Sherry. “The 20% increase in passenger numbers across the industry last year reaffirms cruising as the most successful sector of Australian tourism.”
To capitalise on this growth and expand its passenger capacity in the region, Carnival Australia recently announced plans to move two Holland America Line vessels to the P&O Cruises fleet in Australia. The company will also introduce a record number of new itineraries for ships in its Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Holland America and Seabourn fleets.
“Carnival’s international brands saw the growth opportunity here and, as a result, Australians have an unparalleled choice of ships and itineraries covering the widest possible spectrum from high quality mid-range cruising to ultra luxury voyages,” Sherry said. “As cruising has grown, communities right around the country have seen the long value chain of cruising in action and want to be part of it.”
Sherry said cruising would continue to grow as long as infrastructure issues in key ports – such as Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns – were addressed. Key priorities include developing long-term access to Garden Island in Sydney during the peak summer cruise season, and establishing a dedicated cruise facility close to the mouth of the Brisbane River to cater for larger cruise ships.
In Cairns, it was vital for the planned dredging of Trinity Inlet to go ahead so that the Queensland city could achieve its potential as a cruising hub for the region, including Papua New Guinea and Asia.