A successful bid by Townsville Enterprise Limited, Townsville City Council and the Port of Townsville, supported by Tourism Events Queensland, sees the North Queensland city of Townsville hosting the 24th annual Australian Cruise Association (ACA) conference and AGM in September 2020.
Making the announcement yesterday, Jill Abel, CEO of ACA said, “We are looking forward to bringing the conference back to Queensland which is enjoying a high level of cruise visits. It is also important for us to support Australia’s regional port network which plays an increasingly important role in the growth of the cruise tourism sector in Australia. As such, this will be the fourth year our Conference has been held outside a gateway city.”
Tourism Industry Development Minister, Kate Jones said Queensland’s cruise industry was worth $1.1B to the state’s economy and continues to grow steadily.
“In the previous cruise season, 16 cruise ships visited Townsville attracting over 20,000 passengers and crew” said Townsville Enterprise CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan “Having the opportunity to welcome the cruise industry to our city in 2020 will only help to raise awareness for all that Townsville has to offer and see us increase our cruise business even more.”
It is anticipated that around 120 people will attend the Conference in Townsville to be held from 2-4 September 2020. This includes leading national and international cruise executives and representatives from the supply side of the cruise sector – shore excursion operators, port authorities, provedores, shipping agents and tour businesses.
The Port of Townsville CEO, Ranee Crosby said the hosting of the Conference is extremely timely for Townsville as it comes during the Port’s $193 million investment to widen the navigation channels. “We have a very strong focus on growing cruise visits, and our channel widening project will enable us to accommodate the larger ships visiting Queensland to our world-class cruise ship terminal.”
IMAGE: At the announcement that Townsville will host the 2020 ACA Conference and AGM, (made during the final session of the 2019 ACA Conference held in Geelong, Victoria yesterday) L-R: Megan King, Julie O’Brien and Kim Wheatley
