Cruise ships visiting Western Australia generated $275.3 million towards the State's economy in 2014-15 according to figures released today by Cruise Down Under, Australia's peak cruise industry association.
Acting Tourism Minister John Day said the figures showed WA had 101 cruise ships visits in 2014-15, a 48.5 per cent increase on the previous year.
"The cruise industry is undergoing massive growth worldwide and this is paying dividends for tourism in this State," Day said.
"WA leads the rest of the nation in terms of growth in the cruise sector with visiting ships generating more than $275 million in 2014-15, a $159 million increase on the previous year."
The Acting Minister said tourism was a vital industry in WA which generated about 94,000 jobs and $8.9 billion in visitor spend a year and the State Government wanted to see that figure increase to $12 billion by 2020.
"Having a strong performing cruise sector will help us achieve that goal, and in fact, we're already seeing results," he said.
"When Tourism WA and the Cruise Western Australia Committee developed the Western Australian Cruise Shipping Strategic Plan 2012-2020, the aim was to eventually increase the value of the sector to $274.4 million, so effectively that goal has been reached five years early."
The figures also show that, with the exception of Bunbury, all of the State's cruise ports recorded an increase in the number of visiting ships. Busselton welcomed its first cruise vessels to the city, with six ships entering the port.
Fremantle continues to be the most significant cruise arrival port in WA, generating $254.4 million.