Comments create waves

ACA recently went public in Hobart to counteract the negative comments locally around “budget booze cruises” generated by the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania.

Following a media story decrying the negative impact by low cost cruise passengers visiting on “mega ships”, ACA published a strongly worded refute to the outdated and one dimensional comments, pointing out the enormous benefits generated in local economies by the diverse range of visiting cruise ships.

Nationally, tourism industry groups are heavily focussed on the accommodation sector and despite cruise being a mature sector in our country, there is a lack of acknowledgement of the enormous benefits cruise brings to major cities and regional towns. Economic spend spreads widely to attractions, transport, infrastructure, retail and provisioning and in most cases average passenger daily spends are higher (excluding accommodation input) than other visitors.

Tasmanian tourism operators joined in support pointing out that short stay cruise visitors regularly return to a destination for a longer holiday having had their interest piqued on their initial cruise visit.

We continuously engage with our State and regional tourism organisation members to deliver strong strategies to support the growth of cruise, considering factors such as delivery of authentic experiences, community interaction, brand honesty, capacity and sustainability.

We don’t often have to publicly defend our industry in light of the huge wave of support for cruising but it was heartening to read the array of voices supporting the “Australian brand” of welcoming and friendly communities.