Australians will be spoilt for choice when it comes to cruising this summer, with a record number of ships visiting the country between October 2013 and April 2014.

According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) figures, 34 ships will cruise into Australian waters between 1 October 2013 and 30 April 2014, up from 33 ships over the same period in 2012/13.

Making it Australia’s busiest summer cruise season, the 34 ships will make 588 calls to Australian ports, including stops at many regional ports in Eden in NSW, Geelong in Victoria, Robe in South Australia and Exmouth in Western Australia.

CLIA Australasia general manager Brett Jardine said extra visits this summer will enable more Australians to cruise from their doorstep, while injecting roughly AU$500,000 into a port per ship.

“It’s a win-win,” Mr Jardine said.

“Cruising is a year round industry for Australia now, but a busy summer season like this will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy.”

The new figures come at the start of National Cruise Week, a CLIA consumer promotion running from 2 to 9 September.

Throughout the week, holidaymakers can pick up deals from up to 60 CLIA international cruise members.

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