We must talk cruise control

EDITORIAL: There is something out of whack when it comes to the number of cruise ships that dock here each summer.

Sea Princess if the first cruise ship to dock in Hobart for the new season. Picture: JASE EVANS

HOBART Lord Mayor Ron Christie’s dramatic stance against “mass tourism” in our capital city has been roundly criticised by those in the industry. But one point he has made does ring true: that there is something out of whack when it comes to the number of cruise ships that dock here each summer.

And with the first of the 64 ships due to dock in Hobart this season having arrived in town yesterday, it’s a good time to reflect. Because the secret truth is that the future of our state’s cruise industry is the hottest topic among tourist operators at the moment.

There are increasing concerns that the cruising market is getting away from us, that its growth is continuing unchecked — and that we are attracting the wrong type of vessels: the cheap all-inclusive cruises whose passengers tend to not spend much ashore.

Every other tourism segment in Tasmania is supply-driven. The cruise ship industry is demand-driven. And the projected growth is actually quite scary.

A total of 100 super liners are currently being built in Asia. Hobart — and Tasmania — is meanwhile in the top tier of desirable destinations in the Asia-Pacific region, with visitor satisfaction surveys off the charts compared to other destinations.

But we remain a small place with an even smaller population. And so our future needs to be less Venice and Barcelona (where cruising has grown unchecked) and more Alaska and the Galapagos Islands — destinations where authorities have been clever about how they control and regulate the cruising industry.

Our message to the cruise ship operators needs to be that we want you to come here. We want and welcome growth. But we want the right kind of growth.

Like so many of the challenges facing our little state at the moment as we try to work through what are the long-term impacts of this purple patch, this is a balancing act that we need to get right.

We are a premium destination, and we don’t ever want to trade that in. We are also a destination in demand. We should therefore be in a position where we don’t just take what we are given. And so we need to work together as a community, an industry, as a port authority and a government in working through what levers can we pull to encourage the right kind of growth from the cruise ship market.

Perhaps Tasports should be considering what it can do with the prices it charges for docking fees. Perhaps we should be positioning our product properly to attract the high-yield more expensive cruises. And then we need to provide high-quality, high-end experiences when they are here to ensure they return. Whatever the answers, it’s a conversation we need to have.

Cruise ship passengers currently account for about 20 per cent of the state’s visitors, about 350,000 last year. However, they contribute just 2 per cent of total visitor spend — about $50 million, or $142 each.

As Tourism Industry Council boss Luke Martin said in the Mercury this week: “It’s probably time to stabilise and position Tasmania as the premium cruising destination in Australia.”

While we don’t agree with everything Lord Mayor Christie has ranted about in recent times, perhaps on this topic he was on to something.