By
Rebecca Gibson |
MI Associates and Destination New South Wales (NSW) are to develop a ten-year Cruise Development Plan to ensure the Australian state is able to reap the economic benefits of the county’s growing cruise market.
Recommended by the NSW Government’s Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan (VEIAP), the plan will be developed in consultation with key players in the cruise industry. It aims to forecast growth in cruise ship arrivals and passenger numbers to ensure NSW is equipped to meet future growth. This will include developing financial models to identify and meet capacity and infrastructure needs, ensuring the state can provide food and other supplies to cruise ships and providing pre- and post-cruise tours for passengers.
“The Cruise Development Plan will help NSW plan for the forecast growth in cruise ship calls and passengers numbers and to capitalise on opportunities to grow our state’s overnight visitor expenditure,” said Andrew Stoner, deputy premier and minister for tourism and major events, NSW.
The plan will investigate the capacity and infrastructure on the north and south coasts – including the ports of Newcastle and Eden – and will be funded by the new AUS $110 million Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
Stoner said: “This project will deliver on the government’s long term commitment to ensure NSW has the capacity requirements, including port infrastructure, stevedoring and ground touring arrangements, in place to meet the forecast growth in cruise ships and passenger numbers over the next ten years.”
MI Associates will also partner with research firm ICF GHK and Hill PDA to develop the plan. ICF GHK has completed a number of cruise-related assignments in the Asia-Pacific region. Projects include the Hong Kong Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Economic Assessment, a Cruise and Ferry Integrated Seaport Infrastructure Blueprint for Malaysia Assessment and the Shenzhen Prince Bay Cruise Terminal Market Assessment and Strategy.
The announcement comes after the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia’s 2013 Cruise Industry Source Market Report revealed that the country has the fastest growing cruise market, outranking North America in terms of market penetration based on population. Last year, a record 833,348 Australians took a cruise last year, a 20% increase from 2012.