Coast welcomes ACA

THE Australian Cruise Association (ACA) opened its 21st conference and annual general meeting on the Sunshine Coast last night, reinforcing the region’s role as one of the fastest growing port destinations in the country.

The program was officially opened by Leanne Coddington, ceo of Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), who spoke about the record number of cruise ships visiting Queensland in 2016-2107 that spent 407 ship days in port, representing an increase of 25% on the year prior.

More than 110 delegates are participating in the conference held in Mooloolaba and themed “Together Towards Tomorrow,” to explore infrastructure development, collaboration with cruise lines, and understanding changing customer needs.

Highlighting the importance of cruise growth to the local region, Visit Sunshine Coast ceo Simon Latchford, pictured, said cruises to the coast had grown by 28.6% over the past year, with an average spend of $269 per passenger injected into the local tourism economy.

Two international speakers are on the program for the conference this week.

Bruce Krumrine, vp of shore excursions for Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O based in the US, and Matt Grimes from Viking Cruises, responsible for itinerary development and deployment based in Europe, will give presentations on the importance of destination development.