At last! Don Farrell confirms cruise is on the agenda for New Zealand trip

• Don Farrell has confirmed that he will meet with New Zealand Tourism Minister Louise Upston during his trip to New Zealand in September.
• Upston has been a fierce advocate for cruise, and has revealed that she has already spoken to Don Farrell about cruise. Farrell says he “understands her concerns”.
• The key will be whether this meeting can result in real actions being taken, with the Australia cruise industry needing support from the government.

Over the past two years, Tourism and Trade Minister Don Farrell has seldom said the word ‘cruise’ in public and declined to comment when Cruise Passenger asked about our capacity issues and clais govenrment regulation was to blame.

Finally, however, he has revealed that cruise will be on his agenda during a trip to New Zealand next month.

Farrell also confirmed that he has spoken with New Zealand Tourism Minister Louise Upston, who has been vocal about wanting more collaboration with the Australian government in relation to the promotion of cruise in the region.

Minister Farrell said: “Cruise is an important part of our tourism industry, driving visitation across our regions and remains popular for holidaymakers.

“I have previously spoken with Minister Upston and understand her concerns. 

“I look forward to meeting with the Minister during my upcoming visit to New Zealand to continue this discussion.”

While the statement doesn’t reveal too much, it could signal a change in attitude towards cruise, and a follow-up meeting  with Louise Upston is a step in the right direction.

Farrell has been vocal about wanting to increase commercial partnerships between Australia and New Zealand and cruise will be far from the only thing on his agenda, but it’s bound to be discussed in a meeting with Upston. 

Upston has helped spearhead a pro-cruise movement in New Zealand, but hasn’t been shy about the fact that Australia needs to pull its weight as well.

She told Cruise Passenger: “I have met with Australia’s Sen. Don Farrell. I raised the importance of a collab with Australian cruise. I will be meeting again with the Senator in a couple of weeks and I will continue to push for our two countries to align as much as possible.

“We are deeply connected to the Australian cruise market with about 70% from Australia.”

However, while discussions are steps in the right direction, material action needs to be taken quickly. Cruises are planned at least three to four years in advance, and both Australia and New Zealand are already taking financial hits due to their tanking cruise industries.

The process of growing Australia and New Zealand’s cruise industry will take years, and the sooner the process starts, the better.

Why New Zealand needs Australia

Upston is right. The vast majority of cruise ships, especially large ones, that visit New Zealand, come directly from Australia. 

In recent years, many cruise lines and ships have ceased their Australian operations, and many lines have been cutting back on New Zealand itineraries, opting instead for more South Pacific sailings. This left New Zealand with a massive 40% drop in cruise visitation. 

For its part, the New Zealand government has worked closely with the New Zealand Cruise Association and other industry stakeholders to create a comprehensive plan for cruise, and the plan has seen fast results.

New Zealand has managed to attract Carnival Adventure to come and homeport from Auckland for a month, is building a new international cruise terminal in Auckland, avoided a potential ban on sailings in Milford Sound, created new hull cleaning solutions in Auckland and more.

However, there are limits to what New Zealand can achieve on its own; it’s simply too small of a market and it needs Australia to collaborate in order to attract more ships.

Australia and New Zealand need to work together to reduce red tape and create incentives for cruise lines to visit the region as a whole. Doing this will also open more doors to collaborate with Asian countries as well and boost cruise tourism across the entire Asia-Pacific region. 

Currently, the Australian government has had extremely little to say about cruise, and there’s very little collaboration between industry and government. 

The Aussie cruise industry has already contracted more than $1 billion and more losses are likely on the way if action isn’t taken fast. 

Australia currently has a great opportunity to advance in cruise. Royal Caribbean is bringing more ships to the region and investing with its own private island in Vanuatu; more travellers are looking towards domestic journeys as geopolitics continues to complicate international travel and cruise lines across the world are expanding their fleets and assessing where to send new ships. Moreover, regions such as Europe have been turning their back on cruise and cruise lines are looking for destinations that are friendly and open their doors to cruise.