Sydney welcomes cruise bonanza
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Twenty eight cruise liners will have visited Sydney Harbour in as many days this month, according to a Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) report. The cruise bonanza is expected to provide the city with a welcome economic boost, as passengers flood into the city’s bars and restaurants.
The highlight of the cruise season will be the arrival of the huge Queen Mary 2, the longest cruise ship in the world, which is due to sail into the iconic Harbour on Thursday, the SMH report said. By the end of this month, as many as 40,000 passengers will have hit Sydney’s shores and tourism groups estimate they will each have spent about AU$250 (US$161) a day.
To cater for the influx of superliners, White Bay, usually a cargo port, was given a trial run as a passenger terminal on Saturday when the Amadea was forced to dock there because there was no room at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Darling Harbour. White Bay was used again on Sunday when the Dawn Princess docked in the city.
The city’s Tourism and Transport Forum Executive Director, Olivia Wirth, warned that Sydney needed to improve its facilities if it is to continue reaping the full economic benefits of the cruise industry.
“Sydney will host four ships at once at the beginning of March – three of which don’t fit under the Harbour Bridge,” SMH quoted Ms Wirth as saying. “Two of these ships will have to moor in the harbour, meaning passengers will have to be ferried to shore. While this is quite rare at the moment, it will happen more often
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