Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess has made a shining start to South Australia's 2024-25 cruise season, as the first of 119 cruise and expedition ship visits scheduled for the state.
The ship carrying up to 2,794 passengers and 1,065 crew docks in Outer Harbor this morning, after visiting Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula earlier this week.
Princess Cruises is scheduled to make 17 calls to South Australia this cruise season, estimated at more than $20 million in total economic impact for the state.
Delivering economic benefits across the state's tourism regions, passengers will take part in onshore tours and experiences across Adelaide, Barossa, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Fleurieu Peninsula.
South Australia's cruise season is set to continue until June 2025, bringing an estimated more than 241,000 passengers and crew to South Australian shores.
More than 20 first-time voyages are currently scheduled, including luxury cruise lines bringing in high yield visitors to the state, such as MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Hapag Lloyd Cruises.
Cruise ship visits include Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln, as well as expedition ship visits to more remote coastal locations such as Cape Donnington and Flinders Island in the Eyre Peninsula, American River in Kangaroo Island, and Port MacDonnell and Robe in the Limestone Coast.
This season will see the return of expedition cruise ships to Victor Harbor, Fleurieu Peninsula for the first time in nearly 15 years, with Ponant Cruises scheduled to set anchor in December, before Coral Expeditions in February.
South Australia's cruise sector has increased by 48 per cent compared to pre-COVID levels.
Latest data shows the 2022-23 season injected a record $215 million into South Australia's economy and supported 704 jobs.
The beginning of the cruise season follows the Australian Cruise Association Annual Conference 2024, which was successfully hosted in Adelaide last month. Almost 160 leading cruise industry delegates experienced first-hand why South Australia is a must-visit destination for cruise passengers and the industry.
The South Australian Cruise Attraction Working Group was announced at the conference, which will include representatives from the South Australian Tourism Commission, Flinders Ports, Department of Infrastructure and Transport and key industry stakeholders. The group aims to grow cruise in the state and expand the range of cruise lines and ships visiting the state.
Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison it is a shipshape day to welcome back South Australia's multi-million-dollar cruise industry.
"More than 20 maiden cruise ship visits are scheduled this season, which is a direct result of our continued commitment to working with cruise lines to attract new itineraries and vessels for the state where possible," Minister Bettison said.
"We continue to work to ensure South Australia is included in the itineraries of a wide range of global cruise lines. Opportunities, such as being the host city for the Australian Cruise Association Annual Conference last month, was invaluable in further promoting our state as a must-visit destination to leading cruise industry representatives.
"While I acknowledge there are some challenges ahead for cruise as a sector nationally, our focus remains on growing the number and range of cruise lines and ships bringing in visitors to South Australia.
"I look forward to seeing passengers and crew discover the beauty of South Australia's destination and people, as the season helps to inject important dollars into our visitor economy through to mid-2025."
