Townsville has welcomed its largest cruise ship in history, heralding the start of a record cruise season for northern Australia's largest city. It's being touted as a win for local tourism but has sparked fresh calls to revitalise the struggling CBD.
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00:00A royal spectacle on the water's edge as the Queen Elizabeth sailed in.
00:07The 294-metre ship is the biggest to dock at the port of Townsville, bringing almost 2,000 tourists to the tropics.
00:17It's a beautiful vibe, next to the ocean, so that's always my favourite.
00:22We actually came a year ago on the exact same date, but there was a typhoon.
00:27We've never been here before, never been up in this area, so it's a great chance just to sort of see what's here.
00:35The luxury liner's arrival made possible by a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar project to expand the port.
00:42Sailing in today, we're so grateful for the work that's gone into widening this channel to allow ships of this size to come in.
00:49It's a real, real honour.
00:51Allowing Townsville to tap in to a booming and lucrative cruise market.
00:56Passengers, as they disembark, they head out on tours, they head out into our city and onto our strands,
01:01they spend money at dining and retail, spending just over $200 per passenger per day.
01:06The Queen Elizabeth is one of six cruise ships that'll dock in Townsville this fortnight.
01:12All up, a record 28 vessels will visit this year, bringing more than 30,000 passengers to the city.
01:19My ambition would be we'd be at 100,000 in three to four years' time and then we should go on from there.
01:24Local businesses are concerned about the state of the CBD and its impression on tourists.
01:30They were a little surprised at the number of shop vacancies and the state of some of the buildings and the precinct here.
01:38Other travellers had different priorities.
01:41Being a Cowboys supporter, I had to visit the Cowboys Leagues Club.