Carnival Australia is facing Australia’s port infrastructure limitations head-on, with the re-appointment of Sandy Olsen in the newly created Corporate Affairs role.
The widely respected corporate affairs specialist, re-joins Carnival on 1 June 2015 – four years after she left the company to take up a position at Infrastructure NSW.
In her new role, Olsen will address port facility requirements in Sydney and Brisbane to support further cruise industry growth and its economic contribution of more than $3.2 billion annually.
Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry, said Olsen will look into securing long term shared access of Garden Island in Sydney as well as improvements to cruise facilities in Brisbane to accommodate larger ships.
She will also be responsible for looking at the cruise industry growth in Asia and opportunities for complementing opportunities with Australia.
“Sandy’s unparalleled experience of cruising’s transformation, its dramatic growth trajectory and its operational challenges made her the obvious choice to lead Carnival Australia’s corporate affairs team.”
Ann Sherry, Carnival Australia CEO
The topic of Sydney and Brisbane’s port infrastructure has been the topic of debate for years, with members of the cruise industry concerned that without urgent attention it could stunt the growing sector.
According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia latest figures, the number of Australian cruise passengers reached 833, 348 in 2013 – up from 694,062 in 2012.
This figure is expected to exceed a million this year, however, without proper infrastructure, the industry says it can’t bring larger ships to our shares and cater to demand.
Currently, the largest ship to sail to Australia is Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, which carries 3,138 passengers.
Voyager and its Oasis-class sisters aren’t even in the top 20 of the list of world’s largest cruise ships.
“As cruising continues on a path of double digit annual growth with the landmark target of one million passengers to be achieved this year, the sector is moving in exciting new directions but challenges such as infrastructure investment remain.”
Ann Sherry, Carnival Australia CEO
Of her return to Carnival Australia, Olsen said she feels like it is a natural step and is looking forward to drawing on her previous cruise industry experience to support Carnival’s growth.