- In an exclusive interview, the boss of Cruise Lines International Association has praised some states for proactively welcoming the cruise industry.
- MD Joel Katz has called on the Federal Government to emulate their moves.
- He also praised New Zealand, which this week stopped a bid to halt cruising in Milford Sound.
The organisation that represents cruise lines in Australia has called on the Federal Government to join its campaign to woo ships back to Australian ports.
Cruise Lines International Association Australasia (CLIA) MD Joel Katz has been fighting hard to get cruise lines to send more vessels to the region. He led a delegation of 30 Australian and NZ cruise chiefs – the biggest ever – to the industry’s biggest event, Seatrade Cruise Global, in Miami in March. More than 30 organisations from both sides of the Tasman took part.
The Federal Government, however, was not represented.
Mr Katz told Cruise Passenger: “I think we’ve seen some really positive examples out of some of the smaller states and territories.
“We are seeing how proactive the South Australian government is as an example, really trying to understand what they need to do as a government to work with the cruise lines, to work with industry, to work with the supply chain to try and secure more deployments.”
“We’re having some very similar conversations with the Northern Territory. They see the benefits of cruise, particularly in their off-season when they’re not getting a lot of other tourists. Cruise ships are passing through Darwin and delivering significant economic benefits.
“Exactly the same in Western Australia, where they see the direct benefits that cruise visitation brings to some of those smaller communities up and down the coast.
“What we’d love to see is the federal government taking a similar proactive approach.”
Cruise lines announce increase
In a big week for Australian cruising, CLIA announced a 5.9% increase in the number of Australians booking cruise holidays. Australian cruisers now number 1.32 million – but tellingly, 18.5 per cent now fly cruise to foreign destinations, meaning their holiday spending is lost to Australian businesses.
Cruise Passenger research shows the number of ships sailing Australian waters next season has shrunk, reducing capacity by up to 40 per cent.
It is this that the industry is trying to address.
American-based cruise lines like Carnival, which owns favourite brands like Princess, Cunard and Holland America, are sending more ships to the Caribbean because of regulations, high costs and our lower dollar.
New Zealand is suffering a similar fate.
Katz praised South Australia, where the state has held direct talks with cruise lines, and where the State’s Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison has taken a personal interest.
“She has convened a working group that meets regularly and is made up of industry suppliers, ports and travel agents to work through the challenges, understand the barriers and look at the opportunities and then work towards some tangible outcomes that hopefully will translate into deployment in South Australia in the future.”
He said that approach and focus is what needs to happen across the country if Australia is to go back to the times when our place as the fourth largest cruise market was rewarded with newer and larger numbers of ships.
This year, for instance, Princess has just two ships, where once it deployed five, Cunard has removed the Queen Elizabeth, P&O Australia has been closed and Royal Caribbean is sending smaller vessels.
CLIA optimistic
Mr Katz remains optimistic that, despite the long lead times, cruise companies need to redeploy their vessels across the world, and Australia and New Zealand are strong contenders for more ships.
New Zealand has certainly changed its stance. This week, attempts to get cruise ships banned from highly popular Milford Sound were turned down by the government in Wellington.
New Zealand has seen its ship numbers slashed by 40%, and harsh implementation of its biofouling laws seriously damaged the region’s reputation for stability and certainty in the eyes of cruise lines.
Says Katz: “It’s early days but we’re starting to see that sort of collaborative partnership approach. We’ve had some very positive engagement and interaction with the New Zealand government, with more to come.”
And with more small-ship lines like Oceania, Silversea, Azamara, and Viking sending ships here, he is right to be.
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