Cairns to Become Cruise Ship City in 2017

The increasing popularity of cruises is set to usher in a great deal of cash to the economy of Cairns and seven cruise ships are preparing to make maiden voyages to the Far north.

Next year, a total of 59 cruise vessels were set to berth in Cairns Harbour. And, 19 would drop anchor off Yorksheys Knob. On the other hand, 21 would take a voyage to Port Douglas.

It would represent a marked increase on this year, with as many as 40 vessels having visited the region of Cairns.

While the industry contributes an amount of $25 to $30 million to the local economy every year. It marks a fraction of the Far North’s $3.6 billion tourism sector.

Alex de Waal who is the chief executive of Tourism Tropical North Queensland said that the key to expanding the cruise ship industry in the Far North was to ensure that more vessels make Cairns as their base.

He then went on to add that in the operations of the home port since they generate a good deal of pre and post-visitation and even provisioning expenses.

This year, Pacific Eden that belongs to P & O Cruises made Cairns its home port. This agreement is likely to continue till the end of the year 2018. Curtis Pitt, the treasurer said that the cruise ship sector was now ‘matching it with the capital cities’.

The Pacific Explorer is yet another cruise vessel of P &O Cruises that is set to arrive in Cairns in September.

The first of the cruises for the new year are believed to arrive tomorrow. For instance, the Pacific Aria is scheduled to bring about 2045 passengers and crew members to Cairns.