Cruising route to tourism dollars
A HIGH-LEVEL US-based cruise ship executive visited the city at the weekend and a further five international route planners are to arrive later this year as the city continues to garner support from the multimillion-dollar industry.
Miami-based Christopher Allen, head of deployment and itinerary planning at Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, visited Versace, Dreamworld and the Broadwater on Saturday to see if the Gold Coast should be considered as a stopover.
The company had already indicated it was looking at the region, with the Coast likely be a day-trip destination for passengers on tour cruises departing Brisbane and Sydney.
Mr Allen’s visit came as new figures from the Economic Impact of the Cruise Shipping Industry in Australia 2011-12 report showed it boomed in the past year, with passenger expenditure rising from $302.9 million to $443.1 million.
A further five international route planners are believed to have added the Gold Coast into their Australian visit as the city – with the help of Gold Coast Tourism, Tourism Queensland a n d T o u r i s m A u s t r a l i a – continues to push itself as a destination stopover.
Representatives from Prestige Cruise Holdings and Holland America Line are said to be among the companies visiting.
The Gold Coast City Council has promised to build a cruise ship terminal and there are now three options on the cards, including two in the Broadwater and one at Kirra. Mayor Tom Tate has promised it’s a case of ‘‘when, not if’’, with the process expected to go to tender shortly.
The report by economic consultants AEC, commissioned by Tourism Australia, shows crew expenditure rose from $43.5 million to $60.3 million.
There was an increase in cruise ship visits from 573 to 736, with 31 ports stopped at.
The report shows passengers a r e spending more on t he ground, with port-related spending rising from $440.6 million to $733.2 million
Over the next year, more than 95 more cruise ship visits are expected.
The report found growth was driven by eastern seaboard capital cities Brisbane and Sydney.
Meanwhile, it says 11 new ships will visit in the 2012-13 season, including the new Voyager of the Seas, which holds 3138 people.
Director of corporate relations and destination management for Gold Coast Tourism Lindsay Wallace, who went to Hobart for the 2012 Cruise Down Under conference, said cruise ships were looking for top destinations with good tourism infrastructure and quality service.
‘‘The customers determine where they stop,’’ she said.
‘‘If they don’t like somewhere it is dropped from the route.
‘‘They are used to high-level customer service on the boat and they expect that repeated when they visit.’’
Ms Wallace said cruise ship companies gave destinations a two-season trial.