Cruising to return to SA

THE travel industry is saluting the return of the cruise industry to South Australia, announced yesterday by the state’s Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison.

In announcing the return, Bettison noted more ships than prior to the pandemic are set to call on South Australia’s shores across the 2022-23 season - a development hailed by Coral Expeditions Commercial Director Jeff Gillies.

“The SA Government has been very supportive and open to allowing our local operations of under 100 passengers in the past years and it has been a great success with the delivery of 10 new voyages by Coral,” he said.

“We see this region as a popular and regular new inclusion in our annual sailing schedule with unique natural attributes and a strong tourism infrastructure to support cruising”.

More than 100 cruises are scheduled for SA in the coming season, with the sector hoping to top the $145 million contribution it made to the state’s economy in 2018-19.

The 101 cruises scheduled for South Australia in 2022-23 include 20 expedition vessels, and the state’s first scheduled cruise call is Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess on 17 Sep.

“The return of cruising signals a major step forward for the recovery of South Australia’s visitor economy,” Bettison said.

“This means more visitors to SA, more expenditure, and more jobs for locals – with on-shore tours spreading the benefits from the city to the Barossa, Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Eyre Peninsulas, Kangaroo Island, and beyond.

“It is thanks to South Australia’s excellent cruise infrastructure – which includes recent upgrades to the terminal at Outer Harbor to provide a warmer welcome to passengers as they disembark and a widening and deepening of the channel – that some of the world’s largest cruise ships are heading to our state.”

One of South Australian tourism’s cognoscenti, Phil Hoffmann Travel Managing Director Phil Hoffmann, said the development is a “great opportunity” for the state’s tourism industry.