The coastal state with the least
cruising in Australia is primed
for 20% more ships next season.
THE South Australian Tourism Commission
(SATC) aims to double the number of cruise
ship arrivals by 2020, starting with a modest
increase in the 2012/13 summer.
Leah Clarke, SATC’s senior business manager,
access development, told Cruise Weekly that
South Australian ports will welcome 25
arrivals during the upcoming summer season,
up from 21 in 2011/12.
“Our long-term goal is to reach 43 cruise
ship arrivals by 2020 and we are on track to
achieve that,” she said.
“Importantly, South Australia is attracting not
only more cruise ship arrivals, but also visits from
much larger ships carrying more passengers.”
Highlights in 2012/13 are set to include
Royal Caribbean’s megaliner Voyager of the
Seas visiting Adelaide twice, and Holland
America’s Volendam and Classic International
Cruises’ MV Athena visiting all four SA ports.
Increasing regional dispersal of cruise ships
is a major goal of the SATC, Clarke said.
“Regional ports had zero large cruise ship
arrivals five years ago, and in 2012/13 there
will be seven cruise ship arrivals at the
regional South Australian ports of Kangaroo
Island, Port Lincoln and Robe.”
The increases are part of SATC’s Southern
Ocean Cruising strategy to put the state on
the map as a cruise destination.
“We are constantly in touch with the cruise
ship companies to ensure they are catered for
when they visit our state – if cruise ship
companies aren’t happy with a destination,
they won’t return,” Clarke said.
Also central to the strategy is the private
ownership of Adelaide’s port at Outer Harbor.
The total economic impact of cruise ships in
SA is expected to top $9 million next season,
Winter up from $2.7 million in 2006/07.
