Murray River on the rise, says Captain Cook

Murray River on the rise, says Captain Cook
By admin


Captain Cook Cruises has reported "fabulous growth" in domestic sales of its Murray River itineraries as Australians become increasingly interested in river cruising as a holiday option.

Head of sales and marketing Richard Doyle told Travel Today that Christmas and New Years Murray River cruises are already selling "very well" into the domestic market, with strong interest prompting the cruise line to undertake a $1 million refurbishment of the Murray Princess over the next 12 to 18 months.

However, its Sydney Harbour cruises are proving more challenging due to the vast amount of competitors in the region, Doyle admitted. But he was hopeful that new ventures such as its agreement with Sydney's hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus and "really good" working arrangements with the city's national parks which see the cruise line stopover at Fort Denison, Goat and Shark Islands, would bolster sales.

In addition, he expected additional marketing of Sydney Harbour through the National Landscapes Program to deliver a boost to Captain Cooks harbour cruising itineraries, with it named as the 16th National Landscape last week. Its Sydney 2000 vessel will also undergo reengineering and a revamp of its showdeck in May this year.

Meanwhile, international sales are "tracking ok" as growth from emerging markets in South East Asia and China offsets declines from traditional markets.

"Japan is back to where it was probably a couple of years ago which is encouraging given the tough times they've had over the last couple of years," Doyle said. "The US is showing signs of coming out of tough times economically, it's reasonable positive. But the UK and Europe are going to be tough for the next 12 months to two years."

He confirmed that 60% of Captain Cook sales are from international markets with domestic accounting for the remainder.

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