South Australia’s multi-million dollar cruise industry is set to recover after the coronavirus effect on the sector, with the State soon to welcome 12 cruise ships to its shores.
The additional cruise ships visiting South Australia includes an extra five ships visiting Adelaide, four to Kangaroo Island and three to Port Lincoln. The changes in schedule have increased the overall number of cruise ship visits to South Australia for the 2019/20 season to 85, with a potential capacity of 186,378 passengers and crew.
South Australian Tourism Commission Chief Executive Rodney Harrex welcomed the extra ships and the visitors it will bring to the state’s regions. He said: “The South Australian cruise industry provides a huge multi-million economic boost to the state’s economy every year, and this cruise season, with an additional 12 ship visits and an extension until late May, will bring much-needed extra visitors and dollars into the state.”
The 2018-19 South Australian cruise ship season contributed $145 mln to the state’s economy. In addition to the economic contribution the cruise industry brings to South Australia, it also showcases Adelaide and its regional destinations to thousands of potential return visitors.
“It’s been an unprecedented start to the year for tourism with all of our state’s regions feeling a flow-on effect – we’re committed to supporting the sector as it recovers. Looking at Port Lincoln, in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, the extra three newly scheduled cruise ship visits there will bring an extra 3,000 passenger and crew to the region, meaning more people out and about experiencing Port Lincoln’s attractions, more people spending in local shops, cafes, boutiques and businesses, and more people who are likely to return because they like what they see,” Harrex added.
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