CRUISE season kicked off in Tasmania on Monday (28 October) with the maiden arrival of Crown Princess at the port of Hobart.
The visit was the first of a number of maiden calls Crown Princess will make around the country on its inaugural Round Australia voyage.
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff presented Captain Christopher Lye and the crew with a plaque to mark the occasion.
“Cruise passengers play a significant role in Tasmania’s tourism economy, with more than 260,000 passengers and nearly 10,000 crew to visit Tasmania between October and May,” Mr Rockliff said.
“This is a fantastic boost for our tourism and hospitality sector, with 141 port calls scheduled across Hobart, Burnie, Port Arthur, Coles Bay, Bell Bay, and King Island.”
TasPorts CEO Anthony Donald said Tasmanian ports will host about 130 cruise ships visits during the 2024-25 season, including from Carnival Cruise, Disney Cruise, Holland America Line and P&O.
“The Crown Princess is from the Princess Cruise Line and has more than 3000 guests and a crew of 1200,” he said.
“Cruise vessels play an important role supporting Tasmania’s economy, particularly hospitality, tourism, transport and retail.”
TasPorts highlighted a recent economic study from which found the total economic output from cruise tourism in 2023-24 reached $8.4 billion, up from $5.6 billion in 2022-23, representing a 49.7% increase.
Mr Donald said Tasmaniacontinues to experience growth in cruise tourism, with the report highlighting total economic output for the state in the cruise sector rising to $176 million.
“The report also highlights that direct spending by cruise passengers was up 29.6% in 2023-24, benefitting local businesses in areas like accommodation, food & beverage, tour operations, transport, retail and entertainment,” he said.
“TasPorts will continue to be a champion for our cruise sector, working proactively with Tourism Tasmania and the tourism industry across our regions to actively market Tasmania as a cruise destination to support local communities and small business.”
Crown Princess’ departure on Monday night was likely witnessed by several industry leaders and representatives who arrived in Hobart ahead of the Ports Australia Biennial Conference.
The conference begins on Tuesday night (29 October) with a social event before the formal program gets underway on Wednesday and Thursday.
