Cruisers should strap
themselves in for a wild
western ride, with the WA
government announcing its
commitment to increase its
slice of the cruising pie by 2020.
THE ambitious goal is part of the West
Australian Government’s plan to double the
value of tourism in the state from $6 billion in
2010 to $12 billion in 2020, of which cruising is
set to play “an important role”.
It is perhaps not surprising that the WA
Government is planning on utilising the power
of cruise to reach its target, with the 2011-12
figures demonstrating extraordinary growth in
the sector, generating $185.7 million in
expenditure, up a whopping 150% from the
2010-11 season.
“Western Australia is viewed as both an
inviting and a safe travel destination for cruise
ships,” a statement from Tourism Western
Australia said.
“With a Mediterranean climate in the south
and tropical climate in the north, Western
Australia has the capacity to support cruise
ship visits year-round, and many of the key WA
ports are already established tourism
destinations,” the statement added.
WA has nine ports currently in operation:
Fremantle, Broome, Bunbury, Albany,
Esperance, Geraldton, Exmouth, Port Hedland
and Augusta.
The new Western Australian Cruise Shipping
Strategic Plan 2012-2020 identified
opportunities the state could capitalise on
including the fact that it is the closest western
destination to South East Asia, the world’s
fastest growing tourism source market; the
ability of WA to “deliver quality indigenous
experiences to cruise ship passengers”; an
increase in home berthed ships in Australia as
ships are relocated to SE Asia/Australian
waters; and an increasing number of baby
boomers coming into retirement.
The plan also identifies four key areas which
the Government will work on in order to boost
cruise tourism in the state including:
Destination Awareness and Marketing, which
will see the state forge relationships with the
cruise industry with the aim of increasing
cruise ship visitation, length of stay and
expenditure; and Port Infrastructure & Policy,
to identify gaps in port infrastructure and
amenities and “implement necessary activities
to improve capacity to facilitate growth within
the cruise centre”.
The other key areas include: Strengthening
Industry Capacity and Ownership, which will
facilitate a cooperative statewide approach to
realise the state’s cruise industry growth; and
Landside Destination Development, which will
focus on visitor servicing infrastructure and
development of new shore excursion options
and pre and post cruise touring activities.
MEANWHILE, it is interesting to note that
the report was written prior to the
cancellation of Athena’s West Australian
season (CW 01 Nov), particularly given that a
major contributor to the growth of cruising in
WA in 2011-12, according to the report, was
expenditure from Athena and Sun Princess
being based out of Fremantle for numerous
trips during the season.
