Brisbane terminal imminent

THE cruise industry will soon have significant new infrastructure in Queensland, with Carnival Australia executive chairman Ann Sherry yesterday confirming an agreement for the development of a new Brisbane cruise terminal.

Speaking at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce tourism lunch, Sherry noted that there were still significant opportunities for growth in the cruise sector in Australia - but the ongoing issue of berthing in Sydney was a key constraint.

By contrast, “in Brisbane we have done a deal with the Qld Govt and the Port of Brisbane which is nearing fruition... we’re nearly there... to get a new cruise terminal in Brisbane,” Sherry said.

“That will come on stream pretty quickly,” she added, noting the relative ease of negotiating the new Brisbane terminal versus the complexities of dealing with authorities in NSW.

Sherry reflected on the rapid growth of the cruise sector and its importance to Australian tourism overall, with international visitors now cruising out of Australia surpassing the number of arrivals from Japan, for example.

“Cruise is a huge driver of inbound tourism, not just domestic and outbound,” she said.

The development of the sector has also seen major expansion of cruise facilities across the South Pacific, with Sherry saying more than 50 new ports in the region had opened up in the last decade.

The Carnival Australia chair said the company had done a huge amount of work in destination development which now fed into the company’s global strategy.

“We want to go to places where the people want us to come - that means they welcome our guests as if they were their own, bringing tangible benefits to the places we visit.”

NSW Minister for Tourism Adam Marshall last week confirmed that a joint government-industry working party was currently evaluating three or four options for Sydney’s berthing crisis, and would report back by the end of next month because “we don’t want to keep losing business”.