It has been a shipshape start to the South Australian 2024-25 cruise season, as Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess saw more than 2,790 passengers and 1,065 crew visit its shores this week.

Delivering economic benefits across the state’s tourism regions, passengers took part in onshore excursions across Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln, as well as Adelaide, Barossa, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Set to continue until June 2025, this cruise season is expected to bring more than 241,000 passengers and crew to South Australia. More than 20 first-time voyages are currently scheduled, including luxury cruise lines bringing in high yield visitors to the state, such as MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Hapag Lloyd Cruises.

It was wonderful to see more than 160 tourism operators and industry stakeholders join our Global Markets Industry Forum last week. As we look beyond recovery and to the future, this was an opportunity to discuss the current operating environment and highlight ongoing marketing and PR activities.

Visitors are already flocking to Adelaide to experience Chihuly in the Botanic Garden, an Australian-exclusive exhibition of the world’s most celebrated contemporary glass artist, Dale Chihuly. The exhibition is gaining media attention across the country and globe, continuing to solidify our state’s reputation of being home to must-see events.