Fees, charges and 20,000 jobs at risk – why cruise lines are angry with the government

• Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has been battling government regulation and fees.
• The Budget’s Passenger Movement Charge hike is another bitter blow.
• Now Joel Katz, MD of CLIA, has hit out, saying the federal government’s “cash grab” has to stop.

Cruise Lines International Association MD Joel Katz is usually at his most diplomatic when talking about Australian government inaction over the cruise industry.

But the Budget rise on the Passenger Movement Charge, which puts an extra $10 on the $70 impost, appears to have been a watershed moment.

Writing in a column published by a trade journal this week, Katz attacked the move as “another multi-million dollar burden to cruise travel”.

Cruise Passenger has been campaigning for months to get the federal government to form the kind of whole-of-government approach that New Zealand deployed recently at the world’s biggest cruise conference, Seatrade Global.

The move is necessary to persuade major cruise lines to send more ships to our shores. Our capacity – and News Zealand’s – has fallen by over 30 per cent, despite cruising becoming an increasingly popular holiday in Australia.

Katz says the Passenger Movement Charge increase is “another blow to the Australian travel industry at a time when we are already fighting difficult forces here and abroad.

Cruise Line frustration

He continues: “It is a blow that lands particularly hard on the cruise sector, and CLIA has been making our industry’s frustration known in Canberra as we continue to fight the regulatory headwinds we navigate in this region.”

“It comes on top of countless other fee increases and charges that have made Australia one of the most expensive countries for cruise ships to operate in.

“When you combine this with a difficult regulatory environment, Australia is becoming uncompetitive as a destination. Without action, we will continue to lose cruise tourism to other destinations overseas.

“All this is despite strong demand and record numbers of cruisers both in Australia and globally. The opportunities in cruising are still huge, but we need a greater focus on maximising those opportunities here in Australia.

“We cannot price ourselves out of the market – 20,000 Australian jobs depend on cruising. The cash grab on tourism has got to end.”

Katz later added: “When we say Australia is becoming expensive, we are not referring to one single cost or isolated charge. We are talking about the cumulative cost of operating cruise ships in this market.

“Cruise lines look at Australia in a global context and deployment decisions are made by comparing destinations around the world.

“Australia is a highly attractive destination, but it comes with significant operating costs, including government fees, port charges, regulatory compliance, logistics, fuel, provisioning, marine services, ground handling, and the broader cost of turnaround operations. Any one of these costs may be manageable in isolation, but the issue is the combined effect.

“So “expensive” should be understood as shorthand for a broader competitiveness issue. Australia remains a world-class cruise destination, but it needs to ensure its costs, regulation and policy settings support future deployment rather than discouraging it.”