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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-03-19 Daily Xml
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Cruise Ship Strategy

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:15): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister please inform the council about the arrival of Princess Cruises' Sea Princess to Outer Harbor and the announcement that Princess Cruises will commence some 20 cruises departing from Adelaide in the 2020-21 season?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (16:15): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in the cruising section of our tourism industry. It is pleasing to know that it has been a record season, with 82 cruise ships visiting our shores with a capacity of 171,491 passengers and crew visiting South Australian ports and anchorages. This is an increase of 21 per cent on last year and it was valued at more than $118 million to our economy. The cruise industry is an integral part of our $6.9 billion visitor economy.

Regional South Australia is also reaping the rewards of the growing cruise industry, with Kangaroo Island seeing a 27 per cent increase from last year, with 26 visiting cruise ships, up from 19; and Port Lincoln has seen a 32 per cent increase from previous years, with 13 visits, up from nine. Last year, we announced the fourth regional port in South Australia for next season, Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula. Although we have seen significant growth over the past 12 months, there are no signs of it slowing. The interest in South Australia as a cruise destination continues to grow, with not only more ships and larger ships visiting our state but we have more interesting cruise lines using South Australia as a home port, offering exciting new cruise itineraries from Adelaide.

Yesterday, it was a pleasure to join Mr Stuart Allison, Senior Vice-President Commercial South Pacific and Asia, to make another exciting announcement for the cruise industry in South Australia. Their continued commitment to Adelaide demonstrates that South Australia is a key player within the cruise industry. Princess Cruises will inject an estimated $20 million into the state's economy in crew and passenger spending, ship supplies and port charges. Princess Cruises are long supporters of our state, who have been visiting South Australia now for more than two decades.

Yesterday, they launched the exciting news that, commencing in October 2020, they will have the largest investment in South Australia of any cruise liner to date. In the 2020-21 cruise season, Princess Cruises will have four visiting cruise ships throughout the season, including six ex-Adelaide itineraries on the Sapphire Princess to destinations including New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa. They will be returning with the newest and largest cruise ship in their fleet visiting Australia to Adelaide, the Majestic Princess, with a capacity of some 4,900 passengers and crew with its maiden visit to Adelaide this coming summer.

The cruise industry in South Australia is a significant driver of regional visitation and we will continue to work together with our local government and tourism partners to continue to grow regional jobs and maximise regional visitor expenditure. I remind the council that the Marshall government has launched the South Australian Cruise Ship Strategy 2020 to help the record-breaking cruise industry reach even greater heights to drive tourism growth and support more jobs. The new strategy provides a blueprint for South Australia to continue to grow the sector and maximise the tourism, economic and job opportunities in this lucrative industry.

The SATC has developed a strategy with the ambitious goal of 100 cruise ships to visit South Australian ports and anchorages, contributing $200 million to the state economy by 2020. Our visitor economy is currently at a record-breaking $6.9 billion, and the cruise ship strategy is a key part of delivering on our $8 billion target and will continue to be as we set our sights on 2030.

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