The renowned cruising giant P&O is expected to dock one if its cruise vessels in Townsville for the very first time in six years on Sunday ushering over 1400 passengers to this city of Australia.
Pacific Aria, the cruise ship of P&O was scheduled to arrive in Airlie Beach.
However, it had to be diverted to the city of Townsville after the Cyclone Debbie struck as it had ended up devastating the Whitsunday region. The visit of this cruise ship is expected to open up several opportunities for Carnival, the parent company of P&O to send an increased number of cruise ships to this city.
It would be the first time that a P&O cruise has docked since the year 2011 and it would be carrying a majority of passengers who have been to Townsville on a cruise ship in seven years.
Sharon Hoops, the manager of corporate affairs, Port of Townsville said that the red carpet would be rolled out to make sure that the guests visiting the city would be impressed and so would be the staff members of this cruise vessel.
Hoops added that Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria are also booked for the next year to arrive in the city and therefore the city is eager to have the brand of P&O back into their market in 2018. The ship Pacific Aria is expected to arrive around 9 a.m. on Sunday.
This visit is likely to offer a gigantic boost to the tourism operators who are already leveraging the visit of backpackers and others who have been travelling north from Airlie Beach.
A spokeswoman of P&O said that the cruise ships are expected to visit the Whitsundays in May or June or might be diverted to Townsville. Cyclone Debbie had a great impact on two of the most favored cruise locales including the Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach.
Two other Pacific Aria cruises are expected to call at Hamilton Island in May and June respectively. Jenny Hill who is the Mayor of Townsville said that the cruise ship tourists would offer a great boost to the local tourism operators.
An additional 1,400 tourists for the day visiting attractions like Billabong Sanctuary would be suffering from a great impact.
Bridget Woods, the tourism and events manager of Townsville Enterprise said that the P&O ship would be bringing a brand new cruise market of domestic passengers.
