Joel Katz, CLIA Australasia’s Managing
Director, has called on the government to engage with the industry to resolve
the lack of berths east of the Harbour Bridge as the lack of capacity in Sydney
is forcing cruise lines to redeploy their ships.
Katz said that “resolving the lack of
berthing space in Sydney Harbour is an absolute priority to ensure the
continued growth of cruise tourism in Australia.”
The call comes on the back of CLIA
Australasia’s 2016 Australian Ocean Passenger Cruise Industry Source Market
Report which shows that Australia’s cruise industry continues its growth
trajectory hitting record highs in 2016, with annual ocean cruise passenger
numbers surging by 21 percent to a record 1.281,159.
The growth of 222,378 passengers is the
biggest increase on record, according to the report.
“In 2016, Australia achieved the equivalent of 5.3 percent market
penetration, that’s one in 19 Australians taking a cruise, making this the
highest per capita ratio in the world,” Katz commented.
As informed, the most popular cruises are
local itineraries in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, growing by
30.2 per cent year on year. The South Pacific maintained its position as
Australia’s favorite cruise destination attracting more than 42 percent of
ocean cruise passengers.
Since 2007, Australia’s ocean cruise
passenger numbers have increased by an average of 19.4 percent per year and in
the last five years, these numbers have doubled, according to Katz.
“However, future growth of Australia’s cruising sector will be
hindered by a lack of berthing options in major capital cities,” Katz pointed
out.
“To achieve the 11.8 percent annual Australian passenger growth
needed to achieve the goal of 2 million passengers by 2020, there are
significant challenges facing us as an industry here in Australia, particularly
in Sydney. These must be urgently addressed,” Katz concluded.
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