Australia’s cruise industry presses for federal changes as figures show $1 billion loss

• Figures from the Australian cruise industry bodies Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia and the Australian Cruise Association (ACA), reveal that Australia lost $1.11 billion in total economic impact from cruising in 2024/25 season when compared to the 2023/24 season.
• The Australia Cruise Association plan to deliver report in December outlining a national framework that involves tourism boards, tour operators as well as other stakeholders like cruise lines.
• Cruise Passenger has been campaigning for this issue to be recognised for years.

New figures from the cruise industry have revealed the economic impact of fewer ships sailing in Australia during the 2024/25 season.

Cruise tourism delivered $7.32 billion to the Australia economy over the 2024/25 season, which is still a huge number, but represents a massive $1.11 billion decline in overall economic output from the 2023/24 season. 

Joel Katz, the Managing Director of Cruise Lines International Association Australasia & Asia said that while the figures are still strong, it is a warning that red tape and regulatory constrictions will hinder any further growth.

“We already do a lot of good work with communities around the country but there needs to be a close collaboration between federal government as well as states and territories,” he said.

“The states and territories understand the value of the cruise industry but we need the support of the Federal Government, as they are the ones that dictate rules like immigration and border force, which the cruise industry adheres to.

“In order to be able to grow the industry, we need to reduce the amount of regulation and red tape that is imposed on the industry. Australia is losing tourism to other countries who are welcoming cruise because of difficult regulatory environment and high operating costs.”

Jill Abel, the Chief Executive Office of ACA said the group, announced in September it is creating a national cruise strategy framework which will be delivered in December.

The framework will be a plan the ACA, along with BDO will present to the Federal Government, taking in feedback and comments from tour operators, tourism boards, the supply chains, the cruise lines as well as other industry stakeholders.

“We hope to present this framework to the Federal Government, and ideally, this could be what a national cruise strategy would look like,” she said.

Abel and Katz both said that infrastructure was one big part of the larger picture, when asked about whether the prospect of a third Sydney port would help boost cruise ship numbers.

“There are ports already that are doing great work, like for instance, Broome has great infrastructure to service the Kimberley and Eden has done a wonderful job in improving their port to cater for larger ships.”

Abel also articulated that there is an appetite for more cruise in the regional areas, but this can only happen with more turnaround ports and greater cooperation from all parties.

“We have states and territories that want cruise but it’s also about preparing tour operators, supply chains as well as towns to be ready for this to happen.”

Katz agreed: “Cruise lines need to be able to spend longer in Australia in order to help the economic imput and also to attract greater ships Down Under.”

Such a move would be good news for Australians who have longed been pushing for more capacity. The industry group is also pressing for longer time in port so they can have more turnarounds. Again, this would be a win for consumers and regional ports.

In 2024, Cruise Passenger revealed that from the 2023/24 to the 2024/25 season, amongst large ships, Australia would see a 15% in capacity amongst major lines. More Cruise Passenger reporting on the issue showed capacity was continuing to drain, and there have been more advancements since then.

Despite constant calls for a cruise summit by Cruise Passenger – and by Carnival boss Peter Little and the head of Princess Cruises in the region, Matthew Rutherford – no word on a cruise summit or any action towards a national, coordinated cruise strategy has come from Federal Tourism Minister Don Farrell.

Cruise Passenger has contacted his office no less than six times without response.

Disney Wonder is currently sailing its last season in Australia, Cunard isn’t coming back to Australia, this season Princess is sailing with just two ships in Australia compared to four in 2023/24 and three in 2024/25, Pacific Explorer is now gone from the Carnival and P&O fleet. 

With a lot happening in the industry, Cruise Passenger re-analysed the market, and the results are worrying and could suggest significant more financial hits and job losses coming from the industry.

Quick notes 

• From the 2023/24 season to the 2026/27 season, Australia is seeing a 34% decrease in cruise capacity. 
• Australia has gone from 18 homeported ships in the 2023/24 season to just 11 ships in the 2026/27 season.
• Princess has gone from four ships to two, Royal Caribbean from three to two and Carnival (with the combination of P&O Cruises) from five to four. 
• Virgin Voyages, Disney Cruise Line and Cunard have withdrawn homeporting completely. 

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Are bigger financial losses on the way for the Australian cruise industry?

When considering inflation (three pre cent year-on-year in Australia), the cruise industry in Australia generated 16 per cent less in economic output in real terms from the 2023/24 season to the 2024/25 season.

Capacity is expected to drop which could signify further drop in revenue for the cruise industry. 

With a 17 per cent decline in capacity leading to 16 per cent drop in real terms, a much larger drop off could be set to come next season, as capacity drops another 18 per cent year-on-year, or a total of 33 per cent since 2023/24.

If we assume this to mean about a 30 per cent drop overall in real revenue, that would equate to the 2025/26 cruise season bringing in a total of $6.26 billion. This predicts that the 2025/26 cruise season will bring $2.17 billion less in total than the 2023/24 season.

This would mark more than two billion gone from Australia’s cruise industry, based off CLIA figures this would likely equate to the loss of about 4000 job losses over the next year alone. 

While cruise is a niche industry in some senses, these are far from inconsequential amounts of money and job losses. Cruise made up about 11 per cent of total tourism GDP in Australia over the 2023/24 season, and a 30 per cent hit to the industry over just two years is nothing to scoff at.

While a $1.1 billion decline in revenue is significant, bigger losses are set to come if the industry and government aren’t able to collaborate to make more favourable conditions for cruising in Australia.

For more updates, head to CLIA’s website.