Viking Orion first of 10 liners to return to Townsville this cruise season

The first large-scale cruise ship has made a return to Townsville, introducing international passengers to Australia and injecting an estimated $500,000 into the North Queensland economy.

Sue and John Rogers, from West Sussex, UK, have docked in Townsville on the Viking Orion, the first major cruise ship to dock in Townsville since January 2020. Picture: Shae Beplate.

THE first large-scale cruise ship has made a return to Townsville, introducing international passengers to Australia and injecting an estimated $500,000 into the North Queensland economy.

“Townsville will welcome 12 cruise ships to the mainland and Magnetic Island this cruise season,” Port of Townsville Chief Executive Officer Ranee Crosby said.

“This is a tremendous bounce- back from a two-year hiatus, and already we are on track to see a record number of vessels visit the Port of Townsville in the 2023/24 cruise season.”

The Orion, which holds 930 passengers and 465 crew, will be followed by ten additional cruise liners entering Port of Townsville and an 11th anchoring off Magnetic Island between December and March.

Managing Director Viking Australia Michelle Black said the cruise ship industry had been hit hard by Covid-19, and this was the first time in three years she had been on a ship.

“We will be stopping here as part of our summer season, we will be brining three ships into Townsville,” Ms Black said.

Michelle Black, Managing Director Viking Australia and Lisa Woolfe, TEL Director Ð Visitor Economy & Marketing, in front of the Viking Orion, the first major cruise ship to dock in Townsville since January 2020. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“I guess what that means for the local economy is that will be just shy of 5000 passengers that Viking will bring to Townsville over this period.”

Pre-Covid, Townsville’s cruise industry had been growing year-on-year with 16 vessels carrying 20,000 passengers and crew visiting in the 2019-20 cruise season.

Data provided by Port of Townsville showed the industry was recovering strongly, with 18 ships booked for the 2023-24 season.

Townsville Enterprise Director of Visitor Economy and Marketing Lisa Woolfe said the four cruise liners arriving in December were expected to provide a $2m economic boost.

“2023 is shaping up to be one of the busiest cruise years in Townsville North Queensland’s history and signals another milestone for tourism recovery post the pandemic,” she said.

Ms Crosby said the cruise industry was “extremely excited about the experiences Townsville has to offer” when the city hosted the Australian Cruise Association conference in September. The Port is upgrading its capacity to accommodate larger vessels up to 300m when its Channel Upgrade project is completed in 2024

Originally published as Viking Orion first of 10 liners to return to Townsville this cruise season