But we didn\u2019t really need to be told that Australians love cruising. What should be causing Canberra to question its policy on cruise tourism is the fact that more Australians than ever before are flying to foreign ports \u2013 and taking their tourism dollars with them \u2013 because poor regulation and high costs are driving ships away.<\/p>\n
In 2025, 241,000 overseas visitors cruised in Australia, New Zealand<\/a> and the South Pacific. The largest number was from North America (144,000), Europe (42,000), New Zealand (33,000) and Asia (15,000). These bring valuable dollars and support 22,000 jobs in ports around the region. It\u2019s a trade worth $7.3 billion.<\/p>\n Yet here\u2019s Joel Katz, MD of Cruise Lines International Association, at what should have been a celebration to announce the rising numbers of Australian cruisers, instead bemoaning the lack of government action.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of Australians cruising is at record levels and with around 80 new ships coming on line worldwide over the next decade, this passion can only rise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, Australia is struggling to attract ships to our own waters because of regulatory uncertainties and rising costs, so we are becoming uncompetitive as a destination and losing tourism to other countries.<\/p>\n \u201cCruising contributes $7.32 billion a year to the national economy and supports more than 22,000 Australian jobs, so it is vital that we bring together federal, state and territory governments under a national action plan so we can create greater regulatory certainty, restore Australia\u2019s competitiveness and attract more cruise tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n While the total number of Australians cruising locally grew 8 per cent to 1.16 million in 2025, the total number of Australians cruising outside the local region grew a massive 17 per cent. This means the number of Aussies looking to cruise overseas is growing twice as fast as those looking to cruise locally, leading to a loss of valuable tourism dollars that are gained when Aussies choose to cruise locally.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, one in five Australians who cruise \u2013 20 per cent \u2013 opt to cruise overseas rather than in Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another important statistic is that cruises are getting shorter, meaning that while we have a higher volume of cruising, the total volume of cruising days is not increasing. While cruises in 2024 averaged eight days, this dropped to 7.5 for 2025.<\/p>\n If we look back to 2018, the previous record-breaking year for cruise passengers in Australia, the average cruise was 8.8 days.<\/p>\n CLIA themselves recognise that the primary reason Aussie passenger numbers are able to grow is due to cruise lines creating shorter itineraries: \u201cWhile the number of ships sailing locally has declined due to regulatory uncertainties and rising costs, an increase in shorter itineraries has allowed more people to sail.\u201d<\/p>\n This shows that while passenger numbers can continue to rise, our local tourism industry generated $1 billion less.\u00a0<\/p>\n More sailing days means more visits at ports, whereas a shorter average is generally due to the presence of three and four-day cruises, which often don\u2019t visit any ports at all.<\/p>\n This year will perhaps be the year when the Australian cruise industry feels the true effect of this loss in capacity, taking into account the dissolution of P&O Cruises, Princess sailing two ships instead of three, Queen Elizabeth<\/a> is no longer homeported, and Disney Wonder won\u2019t be back for the end of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n The current situation is one where Australia has the demand to see much stronger cruise growth, but due to limited capacity, the industry is only managing to sustain minimal growth, through cruise lines cutting itineraries, and Aussies looking overseas to cruise.\u00a0 <\/p>\n So, what now?<\/p>\n If instead, better regulatory conditions can be created to attract more ships to the region and for cruise lines to sail longer seasons, Australia can stop finding ways to contain its cruise growth and start encouraging it instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Having more ships can create space for a higher passenger volume with more overall sailing days, not just shorter itineraries that inflate the overall number of passengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The industry needs more room to grow, in the form of attracting more ships who can take passengers, ideally another cruise terminal in Sydney and better port infrastructure in the regions throughout Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s story isn\u2019t one of a failing industry, numbers are largely going up and ships are full. It\u2019s rather a story of untapped potential, where growth could be rapid but instead is slow and uncertain as Australia\u2019s massive cruise demand reaches the limits of Australia\u2019s limited cruise capacity.<\/p>\n \tRelated Posts\t<\/p>\n![\"CLIA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Katz-at-Seatrade.png\"\/)
Katz (left) with New Zealand Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston and CLIA President and CEO Bud Darr at Seatrade Cruise Global.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/young-people-cruising-140x85.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Adelaide](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Adelaide-cruise-140x85.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n