| ACA Update – 7 July 16 : Regional cruise growth

Great news for our regional
members recently with the
announcement that the Port of
Newcastle will receive funding from
a joint Federal /State Government
initiative.
A total of $800,000 has been
committed for the upgrade of the
mooring bollards at the Newcastle
cruise ship berth which will increase
capacity to receive larger ships.
Larger ships also means more
passengers which benefits the local
Hunter region economy overall.
In his announcement of the funding
contribution, NSW State Tourism
Minister, Stuart Ayres noted the
importance of improving the quality
of regional tourism infrastructure
and products which will in turn
contribute to increasing growth in
visitor numbers.
This increased capacity for the Port
of Newcastle is critically important
given that it is predicted that by
2020, 62% of cruise vessels in the
Australian market are expected to
be over 270m in length.
Other cruise centres are also
planning to meet this increasing
need. A $100m “mega ship” facility
is in the planning stages by the Port
of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) to meet
the worldwide trend to superliners.
Elsewhere in Queensland, a
Demand Study Update has been
commissioned in Cairns to look at
the emerging changes in the cruise
industry again including increased
vessel length.
And in Tasmania, significant
upgrades are being undertaken to
improve capacity at the ports of
Hobart and Burnie with both
projects slated for completion
by October for the 2016/7 cruise
season when 89 cruise vessels are
booked to arrive.

CONTRIBUTOR: Jill Abel, CEO, Australian Cruise Association