| ACA conference opens in Freo

THE Australian Cruise Association (ACA) is “very confident” much of the forces working against the local cruise market are settling, the organisation’s Deputy Chair Brendan Connell has said.

Opening this year’s annual ACA conference in Fremantle last night, the Port of Brisbane Executive General Manager Sustainability & Corporate Relations observed that deployment to Australia has contracted over the past 24 months – in many cases, to the more familiar climes and stable yields of the US and Caribbean.

However, Connell said he believed factors such as slow post-pandemic recovery, poor foreign exchange, and high international airfares – are improving.

“With strong collaboration amongst ACA members, governments, stakeholders, and the cruise lines, we can turn this around and be celebrating growth again very soon,” he said.

Connell noted another strong turnout for the conference, which is welcoming around 160 attendees from around Australia, and other regions such as the US, Europe, Vanuatu, Fiji, and NZ. MS

Connell is pictured above right with Western Australia’s new Director-General of Tourism, Chad Anderson; ACA Chief Executive Officer Jill Abel; Cruise Lines International Association Managing Director, Joel Katz.