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Cruise ships on the
horizon “Cruise ships are sailing everywhere but here so I am working to turn them in our direction,” Member for Flinders Liz Penfold said after returning from a Cruise Down Under conference in Darwin on Sunday. “The cruise industry is booming, with the industrial city of Burnie in Tasmania expecting more than 20 cruise liners in the 2008/09 season,” she said. Mrs Penfold said the Labor state Minister for Tourism Jane Lomax-Smith has totally ignored this exciting industry that sees South Australia at the very bottom of cruise ship destinations with only $1.2 million coming from the industry last year while New South Wales received almost $95 million. “I urge the government to provide more funding for the Department of Tourism to help launch this industry in South Australia. “I believe Eyre Peninsula has a fantastic opportunity to attract ships on their voyages between Western Australia and the Eastern States. “They could anchor off the Head of the Bight and watch the whales, visit the Nuyts Archipeligo to see where the idea for the little people of Gullivers Travels fame originated, swim with seals and sea lions at Bairds Bay, or visit Streaky Bay before calling in at Port Lincoln and swim with tuna there,” she said. Shadow Minister for Tourism Michael Pengilly said the opportunity to attract more cruise ships and value-add to the travellers’ encounters is a win-win. “Experiences that people can have nowhere else in the world will give more exposure for South Australian tourism highlights, leading to even more tourists and dollars coming into the state and regions,” he said. |
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