Cruise industry questions WA gaming controls
SYDNEY – Other issues raised by the Access Economics cruise industry report for Carnival Australia included:
Gaming regulation: Industry consultation highlighted that gaming controls in Western Australia affect the value of the package of services offered to passengers on cruise shipping off the coast of WA.
The gaming controls are designed to support the objective of established gaming interests in the state, an activity that is likely to only compete with cruise shipping at the margin.
Proclaimed ports and immigration: Customs requirements dictate that people can only board a cruise ship in Australia from a proclaimed port. While this is done for legitimate reasons, it does not allow the sector to operate in a flexible fashion in regards to itinerary.
One suggested solution for this has been for the cruise liner to pay for Customs officials to travel on their ships, although during the consultation it was indicated that resources at Customs are inadequate for this.
Health and safety: The recent Swine Flu incident on a P&O ship highlighted the lack of coordination across states and territories.
Information received from industry suggested there was no national approach and in some cases each state was offering differing advice on how to deal with the matter. In contrast, the airports had a national approach to deal with this issue.
Other issues: The sector also faces geographical difficulties to overcome if it is to expand its share of the world cruise market.
Australia’s large land mass and dispersed population makes it difficult to offer packages with frequent port visits as is done overseas, like in the Mediterranean.
The concern is heightened by the time it takes to arrive in Australia to begin the cruise.
Economic Contribution: Around 53 percent of the cruise sector’s contribution in 2007-08 was to the New South Wales economy, followed by Queensland and Victoria. The contribution to the NSW economy increased by an estimated 90 percent over the period 2006-07 to 2007-08.
Ian Jarrett
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