Townsville has welcomed its first major cruise vessel in more than two years, after the Viking Orion visited the Port of Townsville last Friday.
The vessel, with 930 passengers and almost 500 crew arrived, giving the local tourism industry a welcome boost in time for Christmas.
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe says the Queensland Government has worked closely with the cruise industry to get ships back on the water after Covid.
“With more ports and anchorages, great weather and unbeatable, world-class onshore visitor experiences, Queensland is Australia’s cruise ship capital,” Mr Hinchliffe says.
Port of Townsville Chief Executive Officer Ranee Crosby says the Viking Orion would kick off a strong recovery for Townsville’s cruise industry.
“Townsville will welcome 12 cruise ships to the mainland and Magnetic Island this cruise season,” Ms Crosby says.
“This is a tremendous bounce-back from a two-year hiatus, and already we are on track to see a record number of vessels visit the Port of Townsville in the 2023/24 cruise season,” she added.
