The Territory's cruise industry is going from strength to strength, with more passengers set to embark and disembark in Darwin, boosting accommodation, hospitality and tourism bookings.
Silversea Cruises is revamping its Kimberley offering, with turnarounds in Darwin, doubling the opportunity for cruise passengers to explore the Northern Territory.
From 2025, Silversea will run its 10-night Kimberley-voyages round trip from the NT, only visiting Broome as a port of call.
They are replacing the Darwin-Broome rotations in favour of Darwin-Darwin voyages, creating more opportunities for pre/post touring across the Territory.
Silversea will also offer longer voyages from the Territory, such as Darwin-Bali and Darwin-Fiji to attract more international clientele.
Silver Cloud, the first hybrid ship in the Silversea fleet, will arrive on her maiden voyage in June 2024 with 10 itineraries departing across 2024 and 2025.
Silver Cloud has a passenger capacity of 296, which will deliver a 40% increase in capacity from 2023 when the smaller Silver Explorer serviced the region.
This is a fantastic outcome for Territory retailers that receive revenue from cruise activity, local companies that service the cruise sector and the tourism and hospitality sector.
The cruise ship industry is a key economic driver, generating an estimated $60 million of annual expenditure within the Territory
The Northern Territory Cruise Tourism Strategy 2022-2025 was launched last year, providing the roadmap to grow the industry over the coming years.
To view the upcoming Silversea ship arrivals to Darwin Port visit darwinport.com.au or to learn more about the cruise market and view the NT Cruise Tourism Strategy go to tourismnt.com.au/strategies
Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Nicole Manison:
"The cruise ship industry is a vital part of the Top End tourism sector, it injects millions into the economy each year and brings in visitors during traditionally quieter months."
"Having Silversea Cruises embarking and disembarking in Darwin doubles the opportunity for pre and post cruise touring, providing further economic benefits to our local tourism, hospitality and accommodation sectors.
"The changes will deliver additional demand for hotel rooms and flights into the Territory, and see more people visit the regions before and after their cruise. This means well-paying jobs for locals right across the Territory."
Quotes attributable to Asia Pacific Silversea Cruises Managing Director, Adam Radwanski:
"Silversea is elated to showcase the Northern Territory to our very discerning local and international travellers.
"Silversea's high net worth travellers benefit the local economy by boosting the local tourism economy with their pre and post-voyage travel.
"The primary reason we chose round trip voyages from Darwin for 2025 is to optimise our deployment and create a mix of shorter and longer itineraries with good domestic and international connectivity, as well as with a high-end pre/post voyage offering."
Northern Territory Government
