Carnival Australia has welcomed calls for more effective planning and infrastructure management in New South Wales to enable Sydney to cater to the growing popularity of cruising.
The Visitor Economy Taskforce Report, released on Friday, found that Sydney and NSW would be unable to reap the economic benefits of the cruising boom if infrastructure failed to keep up with demand.
Carnival chief executive Ann Sherry applauded the report’s recommendations of expanded cruise berthing capacity, the address of economic loss from “provedoring constraints” and the development of a 10-year Cruise Development Plan.
“The cruise sector is already forecast to bring a total economic contribution of more than $1.1 billion to NSW by 2020, and delivery of the priorities identified by the Visitor Economy Taskforce would mean the contribution could grow even more,” she said.
“It’s no secret that cruising is the good news story of the local tourism industry and we’re pleased to see the Visitor Economy Taskforce give it such prominence and strong consideration in the report’s recommendations.”
Sherry added that the cruise operator was “particularly encouraged” by the report’s suggestion that the state government work closely with Canberra to secure access to Garden Island on a “regular, scheduled basis”.
