EXCITEMENT is rising in South Australia as the state’s $145 million cruise sector has broken new records this season. Nearly 80 ships with more than 150,000 passengers and crew members have visited South Australia’s shores since the return of the cruise sector in Sep (CW 20 Sep 2022), which was...
EXCITEMENT is rising in South Australia as the state’s $145 million cruise sector has broken new records this season.
Nearly 80 ships with more than 150,000 passengers and crew members have visited South Australia’s shores since the return of the cruise sector in Sep (CW 20 Sep 2022), which was once worth almost $150 million to the state.
One of the 70-plus ships to visit South Australia this season is Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Ovation of the Seas, which arrived in Outer Harbor yesterday as the biggest ship to ever visit the state.
Passengers disembarked for shore excursions around Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, and the Adelaide Hills.
The call is one of five visits by RCI across this season and the next, injecting an estimated $2 million into South Australia’s economy this season and approximately $3 million in the next.
South Australia’s 2022-23 cruise season runs through until early next month, and has seen a record-breaking total of 104 scheduled calls, topping the previous high of 82 in 2018-19.
Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison spoke of her excitement at the return of one of the biggest cruise ships in the world to South Australia.
“Hundreds of passengers are heading off to explore our city, the Hills and the Barossa, spending in our local economy and getting a taste of festival season in Adelaide and our world-class wine regions,” she said.
“Visits by global cruise line operators like Royal Caribbean are exactly what we need to continue to grow this important sector of tourism – which is already outperforming previous seasons in our state, with an all-time high number of visits scheduled in 2022-23.”
Royal Caribbean local Vice President Gavin Smith noted a cruise is a great way for tourists to get a taste of a destination and precipitate their return for a longer visit.
“Our guests from across the globe love to visit South Australia, enjoying the cultural sights at Adelaide’s museums, art galleries and food markets to wine tasting in the Adelaide Hills,” he said.
Across the two local RCI ships, guests will enjoy approximately 8,000 bottles of Penfolds wines this season.
Ships such as Ovation also support local potato growers in Virginia on the outskirts of Adelaide, which will supply a whopping 250,000kg of produce to RCI ships each season.
