Cruise opportunities abound - Myrmell

CARNIVAL Australia president Sture Myrmell says the ongoing growth of the global cruise industry over the next decade presents a major opportunity - and while Australia’s 5.7% rate of cruise penetration is a world leader, “that means more than 94% of Australians did not take advantage of the benefits a cruise has to offer”.

Myrmell, who is also chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia, was one of the keynote speakers at last week’s Australian Cruise Association conference in Broome ( CW 13 Sep), and noted the huge pipeline of new ship construction.

Currently there are 314 ships in the global cruise industry fleet, comprising 537,000 berths.

Existing order books will see a further 109 vessels to be added in the next decade, with a whopping 270,000 new berths - not to mention a number of additional ships yet to be announced.

And despite the large numbers, Myrmell pointed out that the entire global cruise industry is still smaller than many single city destinations such as Orlando, New York, Paris and even Venice.

For the Australian sector, currently 80% of passengers cruising out of local ports are domestic, with international inbound cruise tourism also seen as a huge opportunity.

Myrmell highlighted the importance of partnerships, in keeping with the ACA conference theme of “Forging stronger relationships,” urging ports, suppliers, government agencies and the distribution sector to continue to work together to maximise the opportunity.

Issues such as infrastructure remain a challenge, but Carnival is continuing to invest in the region with Myrmell noting that the company’s various cruise brands had more than tripled the number of calls to local ports in the last 10 years.

“Together we can realise this opportunity and secure the continued success of our industry,” he concluded.