Red tape and high costs blamed as cruising cops a bruising

CRUISE tourism has just delivered Australia a A$7.32 billion economic boon, but on a yearly basis industry says there’s been a worrying decline.

That was the essence of the latest Value of Cruise Tourism economic impact assessment for Australia, an annual report prepared by AEC Group on behalf of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Australian Cruise Association (ACA).

Loss of cruise tourism to other countries has resulted in a A$1.11 billion decline (-13.2%) in business for Australia in 2025 financial year compared with the record economic output shown the previous year.

“Australia’s cruise community has been warning for some time,” said Cruise Lines International Association managing director in Australasia Joel Katz.

“That we risk losing tourism to other countries because of a difficult regulatory environment and high operating costs.”

He said the report confirmed “we face headwinds and that action is needed to create a better environment for cruising in Australia”.

The assessment also showed what industry said were the “significant economic benefits” of cruise shipping and that it was driven by sustained levels of passenger spending.

Its key findings for FY25 show up a total economic output of A$7.32 billion nationally (down 13.2% over FY24), including direct output of A$3.08 billion and indirect/induced output of A$4.24 billion.

CLIA and the ACA have called for a national action plan to support cruise tourism, improve Australia's competitiveness and create greater economic opportunities.

Mr Katz said the report confirmed the enormous importance of cruise tourism to the Australian economy.

“Demand for cruising is at record levels internationally and Australians continue to be among the world’s most passionate cruisers,” he said.

ACA chief executive Jill Abel said cruise ships had visited 56 ports and destinations around Australia during the year, though the number of ship visits had decreased by 2.7% to 1,700 port days.

“Cruise visits create a huge windfall for businesses around the country, many of which are small-to-medium sized operators like local tour companies, shops, restaurants, travel agents, farmers and other suppliers,” Ms Abel said.

She said cruise passengers spent more than A$1.82 billion around Australia last year, but this was down 5.9% because there were fewer ship visits.

“Australia needs to create a coordinated national approach to cruise tourism, bringing together all elements of government and industry, so that we can return to growth and maximise the benefits to local communities,” Ms Abel said.

The assessment also showed:

• Total employment of 22,720 full time equivalent positions nationally (down 13.8%), with total wages of A$2.36 billion (down 16.9%).
• A total of 56 Australian ports and destinations visited (up 14.2%), welcoming 1,700 ship visit days (down 2.7%).
• NSW recorded the biggest benefit from cruising with a total economic impact of A$3.94 billion (down 10.7%).
• Queensland is the country’s second-largest cruise economy, with a total economic output of $2.04 billion (down 15.7%).
• Victoria recorded a total economic impact of A$424.8 million (down 33.3%), followed by WA (A$368.3 million, down 4.3%), South Australia (A$198.2 million, down 12.7%), Tasmania (A$149.3 million, down 15.2%).
• The Northern Territory was the only destination to record an increase, with a total economic impact of A$205.6 million, up 13.3%.