AFTA update

From AFTA’s chief executive, Jayson Westbury

YESTERDAY, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia released the all-important Cruise Industry Source Market Report for Australia - 2016. It’s an impressive read with the cruise industry really sailing forward with some fantastic statistics. Of real importance is the headline number that 1,281,159 Australians departed Australia on an ocean cruise. This is a significant 223,378 more people than the previous year, amounting to a 21% increase in passenger departures. Interestingly, the increase in the world voyages is up some 83% to 19,636. That’s a lot of people taking a long holiday around the world on a cruise ship, and I am sure the cost is also impressive.

Overall there is little question that Australians have taken to cruise like no other holiday and now generate 5.2% of global ocean cruising clients. It is a testament to the cruise companies having the ability to get the deployments from Australia but also the importance that the travel agents across Australia have had in helping to build this industry.

While the specific number attributed to travel agents was not reflected in the report, my understanding is that it remains well into the 80% of bookings mark and this is good news for travel agents.

At the report launch event it was also declared that the cruise industry in Australia has now recalibrated its forward predictions of passenger departure numbers to be 2 million by the year 2020. This will mean that to get there the industry needs to grow at a rate of 11.8% or approximately 180,000 pax each year per year for the next four years.

The challenge is twofold. First, collectively the cruise companies and travel agents need to get the sales and secondly, there has to be enough available berths on the ships to accommodate this increase.

At the event, it was said that Australian governments (State and Federal) must address the shortage of available porting slots and even with the cruise companies getting head office to change the gauge of the ships, it will be a big task. Each year that CLIA does release this report is a driving reminder to travel agents and the broader travel and tourism industry of the importance of the cruise industry to Australia and the industry at large.

For the travel agents, I hope that you can get a piece of this action one way or another. A very big congratulations to CLIA, its board and staff for the presentation and for such a professional report.