Locals have their say on cruise ships
PORT DOUGLAS
With the Sun Princess arriving in Port Douglas this morning, RHIANNON CANTLE chatted to local businesses about the economic impact the cruise liners are having on the town.
IN the last couple of months there has been an increase of cruise liners visiting Port Douglas, with the trend set to continue in the next couple of years.
Cruise liners such as Sun Princess, Sea Princess, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Jewel are delivering visitors that ‘love Port Douglas’ in their droves, with all of them having a passenger capacity of over 1500 each.
The influx sees many businesses in town receive a steady increase in tourists purchasing their products.
“Each cruise ship that comes in is different in what the tourists want to do,” said Sharlene and Stina from the Bally Hooley.
“We normally only have one employee at the counter, but when there is a cruise ship we have two employees, with an average of around 500 extra people wanting to catch the Bally Hooley train, and over 1000 extra people booking other trips.”
Although there are many positives, some restaurants and food outlets in Port Douglas say many passengers choose to eat on board before exploring the town.
Strict rules of what people can and can’t bring back on ships, along with the short amount of time the're docked, meant some businesses didn’t receive major benefits.
“One negative about tourist coming on the cruise ships is they’re told not to take any food back on with them, limiting what food products they purchase in Port Douglas,” said Paulette from Coffee Works.
“We thrive off our locals and repeat tourists”
However, Constantine Retsas from Port Douglas Opal and Jewellery Centre said what might not be good for him ‘might be good for my neighbour.’
“And that’s good for the town” he said.
The one thing that all local businesses agree on is they want more tourists from all over the world to come and experience the local food, attractions and scenery of Port Douglas.
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