THE dramatic slowdown in cruising growth in Australia (TD breaking news) comes as no surprise to the industry, given the long-running debate about infrastructure constraints, according to Cruise Lines Int’l Association (CLIA) Australasia Chairman, Sture Myrmell.
Speaking at a CLIA event at NSW Parliament House this morning, Myrmell unveiled the figures, which showed a total of 1.35 million Australians cruised in 2019 – an increase of just 0.9%.
That was less than a quarter of last year’s 4.4% local growth rate, and saw Australia slip significantly behind the growth rates of other major markets such as North America, up 9.4%, and Europe, which increased by 3.3%.
CLIA Australia MD Joel Katz noted that infrastructure constraints saw cruising in Australia, NZ and the South Pacific stagnate with growth of just 0.1%, which was offset by a healthier 4.3% uplift in fly/cruise holidays by Australians.
“Cruising continues to be exceptionally popular among Australian travellers after many years of growth and world-leading market penetration.
“A lack of berthing capacity in Sydney has hampered cruise lines’ efforts to expand their operations in local waters, but the increasing number of Australians flying to ports overseas shows the market is still strong and holds great potential for the future,” Katz concluded.
MEANWHILE CLIA Chairman Sture Myrmell also unveiled a global #WEARECRUISE initiative which aims to highlight the ongoing contribution of cruising to the global economy.
A video will also be produced in the coming months featuring stories from Australian cruise operators.
Source: traveldaily