Cruise Ship sector back and booming as biggest ever luxury liner docks at Outer Harbor
The biggest cruise ship to visit SA has docked at Outer Harbor, with 4354 passengers disembarking from the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The biggest cruise ship to visit South Australian shores docked at Outer Harbor on Monday morning, with 4354 passengers and 1264 crew disembarking from the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.
Almost 80 cruise ships with more than 150,000 passengers and crew have visited SA shores since the return of the once $145 million cruise ship sector last September.
Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said it was good for the state and would help boost tourism in the popular regions.
“Visits by global cruise line operators like Royal Caribbean are exactly what we need to continue to grow this important sector of tourism,” she said.
“Hundreds of passengers are heading off to explore our city, the Hills and the Barossa, spending in our local economy and getting a taste of festival season in Adelaide and our world-class wine regions,” she said.
“The cruise line industry is so important for bringing visitors to our shores and to supporting jobs and businesses like our potato growers in Virginia supplying a whopping 250,000 kilograms of produce to local Royal Caribbean ships each season.”
It is one of five visits by Royal Caribbean across this season and next, which will help support the local economy, also employing South Australians among its crew with local produce on-board – including Penfolds wine and potatoes from Virginia.
Adelaide local, Bridget Hancock has been sailing the world for the past six years, working as a singer on the ship.
On returning to her hometown, she said she was pleased to see a “full capacity” ship disembark, following a few tough years post Covid.
“I thought it was going to be a bit of a slow restart … but I started back in March last year in 2022, and it’s pretty much been at full capacity since then … daily,” she said.
“I’ve been sending my recommendations to my cast members, and they’re going off to Cleland (Wildlife Park) today.
“If we weren’t performing, I’d be sending them off to the wine regions but I certainly know that there’s a lot of passengers going off to the Barossa today.”
The Ovation of the Seas visit is one of five by Royal Caribbean across this season and next, injecting an estimated $2 million into the state’s economy in 2022-23 and a projected $3 million in 2023-24.
Vice President Royal Caribbean International, Australia & New Zealand, Gavin Smith said passengers would have a lot to see in SA.
“Our guests from across the globe love to visit South Australia, enjoying the cultural sights at Adelaide’s museums, art galleries and food markets to wine tasting in the Adelaide Hills,” he said.
“A cruise is a great way for tourists to get a taste of a destination and many will return for a longer visit.”
The state’s 2022-23 cruise season runs through until early April and has seen a record-breaking total of 104 scheduled cruise visits, topping the previous high of 82 in 2018-19.
The ship departed Monday evening, headed to Hobart.
WE’RE BACK TO THE BUSH! NATIONAL PARK VISITOR NUMBERS BOOM
Visitation to South Australia’s national parks has finally hit pre-Covid numbers as the government is set to open another national park in the state’s north.
Naracoorte Caves saw a 35 per cent increase in visitors over the past 12 months while Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island saw a 33 per cent increase over the same period.
Environment Minister Susan Close said while numbers are finally reaching pre-Covid levels there is a projection they will continue to increase as international travel continues.
“The surge in tourists has definitely had significant flow-on benefits for the state, with more people staying the night, spending money in the regional towns and supporting local businesses,” Ms Close said.
The increase comes as South Australia is set to open its newest park Nilpena Ediacara National Park at the Flinders Ranges.
The park is located on the traditional lands of the Adnyamathanha people and home to the world’s best examples of the Ediacaran fossil fauna.
“Our hope is that we start to see a fossil tourism led push into South Australia,” Ms Close said.
“There are a lot of people who are crazy about fossils and for them to come specifically to see the Ediacaran fossils is not beyond the realms of possibility that we start to see serious numbers simply because of that.”
The opening of the park is one project the government has announced in an attempt to garner a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
“There is so much value in the Flinders and that’s why we’ve got that world-heritage domination,” Ms Close said.
Cleland Wildlife Park director Michelle Hocking has noticed an influx of tourists coming to the park this month as Mad March inspires tourism.
“It’s just an opportunity to get out again in our natural environment,” she said.
“Get up close to the wildlife in a setting like this that’s so natural … people turn up with their picnic baskets, it’s a family day out.”
One of the many visitors to the park with international pop icon Sam Smith who visited while on an exclusive trip to South Australia.
Cleland Wildlife Park has been a major tourist attraction in South Australia since 1967.
More Coverage
Originally published as Cruise Ship sector back and booming as biggest ever luxury liner docks at Outer Harbor
MP takes aim at ‘morons’ driving dangerously with harsher penalties
Drivers caught behaving dangerously behind the wheel while a child is in their car will face tougher penalties, under proposed new laws to be introduced to state parliament.
‘A long way to go’: September’s ramping figures revealed
The latest figures showed a dramatic decrease in ramping hours, but Premier Peter Malinauskas said he would not “claim victory prematurely”.