WESTERN Australia’s Southern Ports of Albany, Bunbury and Esperance are poised for the start of a seven-month cruise season with several first-time visiting vessels.

The Port of Albany is preparing for 16 visits carrying more than 23,000 visitors to the Great Southern, including a first-time visit by the MSC Magnifica and two visits by the Crown Princess which both have a capacity of more than 3,500 passengers.

Other large ships set to berth at Albany include the Queen Elizabeth, Westerdam and Bolette.

Southern Ports Chief Executive Officer Keith Wilks said a number of ships visiting Albany will do so for the first time this season, which he said showed that more agencies were trying to fit visits to the Great Southern into their itineraries.

“Cruise-goers are always thrilled to visit a community so rich in history, natural beauty and world-class attractions – Albany ticks all of those boxes,” Mr Wilks said.

At the Port of Bunbury Artania will become the first cruise ship in several years capable of carrying more than 1,000 passengers to berth at the port when it visits in April next year.

“It’s great that Bunbury is making a return on the itinerary list for larger cruises because there is plenty to see and do in the City.

“Earlier this year we had a visit from the Seabourn Sojourn in Bunbury, but Artania is on a different scale in terms of bringing visitors to the South West. They’ll have access to some really great day trips in the region and be able to experience a magnificent part of the world.”

Bunbury will also be visited by the Coral Adventurer anchoring offshore next month.

And at Esperance, there are also six scheduled visits between December and early May, that will collectively bring as many as 4,200 visitors to the town.

In 2022-23 the cruise tourism sector generated $333 million and more than 1,000 jobs for the WA economy.

Mr Wilks said demographics showed that cruise passengers were getting younger, which meant the short visits were prime opportunities give people a taste of southern WA.

“We’re confident that once they get that taste they’ll be back to explore further and for longer the next time around, which is a great result for our communities.”