Australian cruise ship record

05 June 2016 by News Desk   |   SHARE  

Record numbers of international visitors are arriving Down Under by stepping ashore from a ship bound on an Australian cruise.

Wave-top vacations are increasingly popular with many thousands now taking to the sea to discover the Lucky Country during an Australian cruise holiday.

One of the top destinations for ships taking visitors on an Australian cruise is Adelaide in South Australia.

Cruise ship Sea Princess (pictured) recently arrived at Port Adelaide with around 3,000 passengers and crew aboard.

Sea Princess is one of a record number of 37 cruise ships that have visited South Australian ports in the past season – 23 docked in Port Adelaide, four in Port Lincoln and 10 on Kangaroo Island. The cruise ships arrived Down Under with a total of almost 90,000 passengers and crew.

And South Australia’s popularity as a cruise holiday destination continues to grow.

Australian cruise ship arrivals

Next year 28 cruise ships will arrive in Adelaide, 19 in Kangaroo Island and five will dock at Port Lincoln. In total, a record 52 Australian cruise ships will arrive in South Australia over the coming year, exceeding the State Government’s 2020 target three years early.

In recent months some of the world’s largest cruise ships arrived in South Australia, including visits by the Explorer of the Seas in Adelaide and the Queen Victoria on Kangaroo Island.

Another highlight was the debut departure from Adelaide of the P&O Cruises Pacific Eden. The 1,500 passenger ship offered six itineraries from Adelaide over a period of two weeks including visits to Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln. About 14,000 passengers came ashore during this time and the economy was boosted by around $8 million during their visit.

Cruise ships are one part of the success story that has seen South Australia become one of the top holiday destinations in the country.

International visitors are currently at an all-time high with 408,000 holiday-makers coming to S.A. in 2015. And these visitors spent a record $897 million during their stay.

Leon Bignell, Minister for Tourism, said: “South Australia has so much to offer to all visitors and it is fantastic cruise ship companies are getting on board and matching the demand for cruise ship visits in South Australia, increasing the number of visits by 15 ships for next season.”

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