THE CHALLENGE:
With its idyllic destinations and fascinating island cultures, the South Pacific has been Australia’s cruising mecca for the past 80 years and, in recent times, it has become one of the world’s fastest growing cruise holiday markets. This seems a natural outcome for a region blessed with huge tourism potential.
It is also one of the world’s last accessible regions that still retains a genuine sense of discovery; a place where the words unspoilt and idyllic really mean something. Such is the amazing growth of cruising in the South Pacific that next year around a quarter of a million cruise passengers will visit the Pacific Islands. Given such exponential growth, the people of the South Pacific are entitled to wonder what is in this cruising boom for them.
Our research suggests cruising already contributes $34 million annually to island economies and this will grow to around $100 million within ten years. The challenge of doing even more to connect cruising and economic opportunity is developing along two unrelated but parallel paths. One of these focuses on how communities can be helped to develop tourism ventures that generate jobs for locals. The other relates to updating hydrographic surveys to provide accurate navigational charts that could lead to the opening up of new destinations.
THE SOLUTION:
First, to the question of updating hydrographic surveys. When Queen Mary 2 completed her recent historic circumnavigation of Australia she carried onboard – courtesy of the State Library of NSW – Matthew Flinders’ journal, log book and the charts that he made following his 1802-1803 circumnavigation on HMS Investigator.
It was a timely reminder that even now, in 2012, some of the data on navigational charts in the South Pacific dates back to Captain Cook’s day. Indeed, some areas are still yet to be charted. It’s not an issue for cruise ships because they use tried and tested courses, taking holidaymakers to familiar destinations that have been on cruise itineraries for decades. However, the data gaps in coastal charts elsewhere are a constraint to opening up new destinations to cruise ship visits and to the economic opportunity they can deliver to local communities.
Updating hydrographic surveys across such a wide area of the Pacific is an enormous undertaking that won’t happen quickly or cheaply. But I’m pleased to say relevant authorities in Australia, New Zealand and in the South Pacific itself are rising to the challenge. They are also awake to the excellent opportunity it presents the region with.
We are also seeing progress on the other challenge of encouraging island communities to develop tourism ventures round cruising. At Carnival Australia, we’ve had the privilege of working with organisations such as AusAID and their Enterprise Challenge Fund, Australian Business Volunteers and NZAid to name just a few. These partnerships have resulted in destination management plans to protect fragile island environments and have provided significant improvements to island infrastructure to support cruising. Additionally, the partnerships have also been a catalyst for tourism ventures in places such as Mystery Island in Vanuatu and the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia.
Given its 80 years of cruising experience in the South Pacific, it is no surprise that P&O Cruises is deeply involved in these activities. Nor is it a surprise that it is making good progress in its own program to have 10% of onboard hotel operations staff recruited locally, along with an internship for senior students at the University of the South Pacific.
So whether it is lending support for updating important hydrographic surveys in the South Pacific or encouraging economic opportunities in the region, it is great to be seen as part of the solution.
