Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading
The Honourable Peter Lawlor

Monday, October 26, 2009

Smooth sailing for Queensland’s cruise industry

Queensland’s cruise shipping sector continues to perform strongly in the wake of the global financial crisis – boosting jobs and regional economies in the past year.

Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said according to the nation’s peak cruise shipping industry body, Cruise Down Under, total expenditure on Queensland cruising increased by 35% to $203.8M.

“Total passenger numbers on cruise ships in Queensland also grew by 46%, up from 169,386 in 2007/08 to 247,964 in 2008/09,” he said.

“And importantly, jobs supported by the sector hit the one thousand mark, up from 732 in 2007/08 to 1,032 in 2008/09.”

Mr Lawlor said cruise shipping was providing a multimillion dollar boost to regional Queensland economies.

“The report showed that cruise shipping value added some $9 million to the Cairns regional economy, $6.1 million to the Mackay/Whitsunday region and $2 million to Townsville,” he said.

Mr Lawlor said although the needs of the ‘bigger’ cruise ships would always be an important priority for the State Government, there was a significant opportunity to grow Queensland’s share of the smaller-sized expedition and adventure cruise market.

“The expedition and adventure cruising segment traditionally targets high spending visitors who prefer to experience local culture and natural landscapes rather than spending their money on cruise ships,” he said.

“Queensland is already leading the way with an array of nature based tourism experiences such as remote Cape York and the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, so this would be a natural growth area for the State.”

The Economic Impact Assessment of the Cruise Shipping Industry in Australia 2008-09 was completed by the AEC Group on behalf of Cruise Down Under.


Media contact: Marcus Taylor 3225 1005/0419 025 326 or Zoe Russell 3224 2002/0437 436 914

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