| ACA’s national cruise plan

THE Australian Cruise Association (ACA) has launched a national strategic action plan to drive policy reform, infrastructure investment, and sustainable cruise growth.

ACA’s plan sets out a clear, coordinated approach for cruise, as well as a strategic engagement program with federal and state govt to drive policy reform and infrastructure investment.

A central pillar of the plan is a national cruise tourism strategy, which ACA chief executive officer Jill Abel said comes in response to long-standing fragmentation across policy, planning, and regulatory settings.

Failures in these regards have directly affected the country’s cruise competitiveness, ACA said.

“Australia needs a coordinated national approach to cruise – one that recognises the sector’s economic contribution, supports infrastructure planning and provides certainty for cruise lines making long-term deployment decisions,” Abel said.

The plan focuses on a number of priority areas, including policy and regulatory reform.

This includes border processing, efficiency and regulatory harmonisation, and trading certainty, with the Coastal Trading Act currently under review (CW 21 Aug 2024).

Port and terminal infrastructure will be a priority focus, addressing capacity constraints at major gateways, and enabling growth at rural ports; as will destination development, supporting sustainable cruise growth aligned with state and rural strategies.

Other priority areas include sustainability and social license, including shore power, emissions reduction, and innovation in clean fuels; as well as rural economic development, ensuring cruise continues to deliver tangible benefits to communities around the country.

The plan includes a structured engagement program with key federal portfolios covering tourism, transport, trade, infrastructure, environment, and border operations, alongside local engagement in all of the country’s states and territories.

It also aims to strengthen ACA’s engagement with a variety of other stakeholders.

Chair Brendan Connell said the plan reflects the collective voice of ACA’s membership, and strives to provide a framework for long-term industry confidence.

“Our ports, destinations and industry partners are committed to sustainable cruise growth, but they require policy certainty and coordinated planning to invest with confidence.”

“This plan represents a unified position and a constructive pathway forward to ensure cruise continues to deliver economic and social benefits across Australia,” he said. MS