More than 208,000 passengers and crew visited South Australia in the 2023/24 cruise ship season, injecting a record $227m into the state’s economy and supporting 738 jobs.

According to the Economic Impact Assessment of Cruise Tourism in Australia 2023/24 – jointly commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association and the Australian Cruise Association – this year’s figures are an increase on 2022/23, which saw $215m spent in SA, supporting 704 jobs.

The state benefited from steady cruise ship visits across the 2023/24 season, which saw a total of 122 cruise and expedition ship visits to South Australia, including 45 to Adelaide and 25 to Kangaroo Island, 10 to Port Lincoln and 42 to expedition landing sites or anchorages in unique and remote coastal destinations.

In a boon for the state’s tourism regions, a total of 27,228 shore excursions were undertaken across the season in destinations such as Kangaroo Island, Eyre Peninsula and Adelaide Hills.

The good news comes as South Australia welcomed the successful start of the 2024/25 cruise season earlier this month, when Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess visited Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln and Adelaide.

A total of 119 cruise and expedition ship visits are scheduled for the 2024/25 season, bringing an estimated 241,000 passengers and crew to South Australian shores.

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.

Australian Cruise Association chief executive Jill Abel said cruise tourism was at a record high in Australia, generating $8.43 billion for the national economy during 2023/24 while supporting more than 26,000 jobs around the country.

“Cruise ships visited 49 ports and destinations around Australia during 2023/24, bringing increases in visitor spending to every coastal state and territory,” Ms Abel said.

“The economic impact is an enormous windfall for businesses like tourism operators, hotels and restaurants, retailers, transport providers and port operators.

“In addition, passengers often return to destinations they initially discovered on a cruise, which creates added benefits for communities in the longer term.”