Fremantle is in a strong position to host an increased number of passenger liners as the Australian cruising market continues to grow at a strong pace, according to experts at a recent conference held at the port town.
Fremantle is in a strong position to host an increased number of passenger liners as the Australian cruising market continues to grow at a strong pace, according to experts at a recent conference held at the port town.
Cruising specialists suggested that Fremantle’s strengths were in the smaller to medium end of the market.
They also believe the port’s proximity to different ports in the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia and regional Western Australia provided an additional attraction.
The port was also well regarded for its ability to efficiently meet the logistical requirements of cruise ships, which is vital when operators make decisions on where to base their vessels and where to visit.
Fremantle had 24 international cruise calls in 2004-05 and has previously hosted big high-profile ships such as the QE2 and Oriana.
Cruise marketing expert Professor Ross Dowling said there were great opportunities for Fremantle to develop as a home port for expedition ships or small to medium sized cruise ships – of up to 30,000 tonnes – operating between Asian ports and eco tourism destinations on the west coast.
Professor Dowling said such services could offer tourists unique experiences such as swimming with whale sharks, visiting remote pastoral stations, or seeing an array of marine and land-based wildlife in its natural environment.
Professor Dowling said the WA port could benefit from an increase in the number of travellers he believes would be attracted to Australia because of its clean and safe environment.
Classic International Cruises managing director Australia Asia Pacific, Grant Hunter, said home porting at Fremantle provided cruise operators with an opportunity to take in new destinations other than the traditional South Pacific destinations visited by Australian-based ships.
Mr Hunter said these destinations included Mauritius, Bali and Lombok. He said Fremantle was also better suited to smaller vessels like the 550-passenger-capacity Portuguese ship Funchal, which was based in Fremantle last summer and will be again this season.
The ship was also suited to making calls at smaller regional ports such as Broome and Exmouth.
Mr Hunter said cruising companies such as his had to deal with authorities including the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Immigration, and Australia’s Customs Service.
“A cruise operator really depends on cooperation from ports for this sort of thing,” he said.
“Ships are in port for a limited time and they need to be cleared by all the relevant authorities as quickly as possible. Every hour is expensive.”
One challenge for ports wanting to attract cruise ships is ensuring shore destinations have the supporting infrastructure to deal with passenger demand, catering for increasingly discerning tourists.
Cruise Down Under chairman Richard Doyle said there was a need for ports to work in partnership with organisations servicing the shore destinations to ensure sufficient tourism services were available.
He said Cruise Down Under and Australia’s Department of Tourism and Resources had commissioned a national economic impact study to show the wider community benefits of cruising.
Australia’s busiest cruise port is Sydney, where the stunning setting of Sydney Harbour and attractiveness to tourists of the NSW capital was boosted by a quick turnaround of large ships, Sydney Ports senior trade development manager Phil Rosser said.
Sydney would host around 100 cruise visits for the 2005-2006 season.
Mr Rosser said the port’s capacity to turn around a full vessel within 12 to 13 hours was very important to cruise operators.
He said ships such as the 2,700 passenger capacity Diamond Princess were turned around in one day, letting one load of passengers disembark and then reloading with new passengers and luggage.
‘It is not uncommon for Sydney to turnaround 5,500 passengers and 10,000 pieces of luggage in the one day,” Mr Rosser said.
“Ports can look after the infrastructure or hard side, but there is a need to ensure the soft side is catered for by working with local organisations and tourism operators.
“You can’t drop bus loads of people off at a destination that doesn’t have enough services to cater for them.”
