Eden’s 2016-17 cruise season will see a doubling in the number of visiting ships compared to last year, presenting opportunities for enterprising business owners.
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There will be 14 visits by eight ships between November 2016 and April 2017 – four of which will be making maiden voyages to Eden.
In 2015-16, eight cruise ships were booked in to visit Eden, but only seven visits eventuated after the last-minute cancellation of the MS Marina because of a strong swell on February 24.
Cruise Eden manager Natalie Godward told an information session on the upcoming season at the Eden Fishermen’s Recreation Club on Tuesday night that the cancellation had cost the Sapphire Coast region $329,700 in lost revenue and incurred costs.
But Ms Godward said the unavoidable incident had strengthened the town’s case to government for an extension of the existing wharf to enable cruise ships to berth in the port rather than rely on tenders.
Only two cruise ships in 15 years had been unable to visit because of bad weather, she said.
The season will get underway in eight weeks with the arrival of Holland America’s ship Maasdam on November 19 with 1258 passengers and 580 crew on board.
Passengers and crew arriving from Auckland, New Zealand, on the Fred Olsen Cruise Line vessel, Black Watch, on February 25, 2017, will be required to clear Australian Customs in Eden.
Ideas on how businesses could capitalise on the visiting cruise ships were floated at the information session; they included the introduction of discount passbooks, a free mailing service and entertainment on the wharf.
The 2016-17 cruise season will see a gamut of visitor demographics, ranging from “high spend” passengers on board the luxury residential cruise ship, The World, through to passengers on budget cruise holidays.
Retail outlets such as Art on Imlay, which specialised in locally made art and handcrafts, were more likely to be successful than traders who tried to sell souvenirs with “Made in China” stickers.