The McGowan Government is ready to welcome the return of large cruise vessels to Western Australia, following confirmation the Coral Princess will visit Fremantle as part of an Australian circumnavigation in October.
The luxury liner will be the first large cruise vessel to visit WA in two and a half years.
The arrival of the Coral Princess to Fremantle on 28 October will flag a bumper few months of cruise travel for WA, with more than 10,000 passengers expected to visit WA between October and December.
From 1 October, cruise vessels with capacity for more than 350 guests and crew will be permitted to return to WA.
This will enable the return of the Coral Princess, closely followed by five more luxury cruise liners before Christmas.
Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, carrying 2,900 passengers and crew, will arrive in Fremantle on 2 November for a circumnavigation of Australia before returning to Fremantle on 2 December.
Oceania Cruises' Regatta, with 1,000 passengers and crew on board, will visit Broome, Fremantle and Busselton between 28 November and 3 December.
Holland America Line's Noordam, with a capacity of 2,800 passengers and crew, will depart Fremantle on Saturday, 2 December.
Silversea Cruises' Silver Muse, with 1,100 passengers and crew, will visit Fremantle, Busselton and Albany between 10 and 12 December.
Azamara Cruises' Azamara Quest, with a capacity of 1,100 passengers and crew, will arrive in Fremantle on 20 December.
Over the upcoming cruise season, ships will also visit other regional locations including Broome, Geraldton, Exmouth and Esperance.
Western Australian tourism operators have already witnessed a busy Kimberley cruise season since small ships carrying up to 350 passengers and crew were permitted to return from 17 April.
Some of the Kimberley ships have included Coral Expeditions' Coral Geographer and Coral Adventurer, with Ponant's 32-guest, three-masted Le Ponant about to make her debut in the Kimberley for a six-month season.
Prior to COVID-19, WA welcomed 106 cruise ship visits in the 2019-20 financial year, which generated $261.9 million for WA's economy and employed around 935 people in industry roles.
October will also be a milestone month for cruising in WA, with Perth set to host the sixth WA Cruise Exchange from 5 to 8 October 2022.
Around 22 representatives from Australia's cruise industry will meet with a variety of tourism stakeholders including WA suppliers and destination representatives, and the event will be enhanced with familiarisation visits to the South-West and Kimberley region.
As stated by Tourism Minister Roger Cook:
"We have already seen the safe return of expedition cruise operations in WA, with the Kimberley cruise season proving to be a success and boosting the local tourism industry.
"Cruising is critical to the WA tourism sector and before the pandemic, this industry injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the State's economy.
"I'm grateful to cruise operators for their resilience throughout COVID-19 and am looking forward to welcoming back large cruise ships to WA in the coming months.
"More than 10,000 passengers coming to WA before Christmas is yet another sign that our tourism strategy is gathering momentum to deliver more jobs and economic activity for WA."
As stated by Ports Minister Rita Saffioti:
"Prior to COVID-19, the cruising industry was a significant driver for our economy and tourism sector, both in Fremantle and in regional communities like Albany, Esperance and Broome.
"COVID-19 presented significant challenges for the cruising industry, but I know all of our port authorities have been working hard to prepare for the return of cruise ships later this year.
"We've undertaken significant upgrades in preparation for the return of cruise ships, including the replacement of escalators and lifts at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal."
