Australia’s cruise industry has its foot firmly on the accelerator, according to statistics released by the Australian Cruise Association at their annual conference today.
The 2015/16 Economic Impact Report found the direct expenditure of cruise ships in Australia hit $1.734b and there were a total of 2,762,000 passenger days in port, up from 2,400,000 last year.
Passenger capacity has been boosted to 72,951 from 68,134 for the period, while crew capacity has risen from 29,582 in 2014/15 to 31,230.
An additional nine ports were visited in Australia this year, reaching a total of 40.
Passengers are spending big in ports, a total of $1.069b, from $903m the year prior.
Jill Abel, ceo of ACA said the figures “show that the cruise sector is continuing to be a vital growth industry for this country, with strong economic benefits for all involved and positive sign that Australian ports feature highly on cruise line itineraries.”
The report also found the drop in the cost and price of crude oil, the improvements in fuel burn practices and new technologies has resulted in reduced costs to the cruise lines and decreased port-related expenditure.
More on page two.
