THE BRISBANE International Cruise Terminal welcomed its 100th cruise vessel on 26 February, nine months after opening for business.
Since the terminal’s official opening on 2 June 2022, more than 430,000 passengers have travelled through the new cruise terminal.
Yesterday’s arrival of Quantum of the Seas was marked by Port of Brisbane chief executive officer Neil Stephens and the vessel’s captain Arild Hansen.
Mr Stephens said Brisbane and Queensland’s cruise tourism industry had experienced an exceptional restart.
“Reaching 100 cruise calls so quickly is a significant milestone and I want to congratulate our team, and all the workers at this world-class facility,” Mr Stephens said.
“The Brisbane International Cruise Terminal has 139 bookings for the 2022-23 cruise season, with a current forecast of 199 in 2023-24 – a 43% increase anticipated on this first year.”
Mr Stephens said each cruise ship call contributes almost $1 million to the Queensland economy, and over the next decade, cruising from Brisbane is forecast to contribute around $1.15 billion to the state’s economy.
“This success is testament to the support of the cruising public, the cruise lines themselves, especially our Foundation Partner Carnival Australia, and both the state and local governments,” he said.
BICT was completed in mid-2020 after an investment of $177 million from PBPL. The facility was only able to open for its intended purpose two years later due to a ban on international cruise ship calls due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
