Townsville residents came out to welcome the Queen Elizabeth on its arrival in Townsville. (ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)
In short:
After a major port expansion, Townsville has welcomed the Queen Elizabeth — the largest cruise ship to dock in the city.
However, local businesses say the state of the CBD will sour the experience for tourists.
What's next?
A record 28 cruise ships will visit Townsville in 2025.
The largest cruise ship to ever sail into Townsville has docked, heralding the start of a record cruise season for northern Australia's largest city.
The arrival of the 294-metre luxury Queen Elizabeth is the culmination of a $251 million project to widen the channel at the Port of Townsville.
Luxury cruise ship measures 294 metres and carries about 2,000 passengers. (ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)
The port's general manager of customer, operations and safety, Drew Penny, said the major upgrade meant the tropical city could capitalise on the surging popularity of cruise holidays.
"There are a lot more ships in the region visiting places like Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas, and without that wider channel we were missing out," he said.
"This has taken our channel from being one of the smallest in the country to one where we can now welcome these large ships into our port."
About 2,000 passengers and 900 crew are on board the Queen Elizabeth, which is travelling up Australia's east coast.
Townsville will see an influx of travellers over the next fortnight with six cruise ships to dock at the port. (Supplied: Townsville Enterprise)
It is one of six cruise ships that will dock in Townsville this fortnight, which Townsville Enterprise said would generate $7.8 million in visitor expenditure.
A record 28 ships are scheduled to arrive throughout 2025.
The influx of travellers has been touted as a win for the local economy, but business owners fear the state of the Townsville CBD will leave visitors with a sour taste.
The Port of Townsville has undergone significant works to make it wide enough for large cruise ships. (ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)
'Embarrassing' city centre
Lucy Downes opened her gift and homewares store on Flinders Street in the heart of the city almost two decades ago.
She said the declining standard of the CBD, which included swathes of boarded-up businesses, was obvious to cruise ship passengers.
In Townsville's city centre, many shops sit empty. (ABC North Queensland: Zilla Gordon)
"They are certainly quite shocked at how quiet our CBD is, how many shops are closed or empty," Ms Downes said.
"They often ask me, 'Is it a public holiday today?'.
"Sadly, I get quite a few comments from passengers saying, 'The shuttle bus has dropped us off at the main street, but I think we've got lost' — which is so disheartening and frankly quite embarrassing."
Lucy Downes is concerned about the state of Townsville's CBD. (ABC North Queensland: Nathalie Fernbach)
Down the street, vintage store owner Nic Lincoln has decided to extend her opening hours to make the most of the extra visitors.
But she is also worried about the impression Townsville's CBD will leave on tourists.
"The more we have these boarded-up shops and nowhere to really go — or it's really an eyesore — I think that's going to be a difficult thing," Ms Lincoln said.
"That's my worry, that the cruise passengers will come and see that and then it adds to the negative attitude that there is around Townsville where it's a crime city."
The business owners' concerns have been echoed by the Townsville Chamber of Commerce.
A record 28 cruise ships will visit Townsville in 2025. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)
Townsville MP Adam Baillie said the state government was committed to working with stakeholders to help revitalise the CBD and show cruise ship passengers a good time.
"When you walk down the CBD during the day, you're met with all sorts of sights and sounds and smells that you might not like, and we can do a lot better on that," he said.
More ships on the way
While some travellers choose to explore Townsville on foot, Mr Penny said many cruise ship passengers opted to do pre-booked tours and visit destinations such as Magnetic Island or Billabong Sanctuary.
"There is a lot of tourism product that is great and we get a lot of positive feedback from our cruise ships," he said.
"The more things people can see and do, the better."
Billabong Sanctuary general manager Cameron Griffiths said he had been surprised by the lack of interest from Queen Elizabeth passengers.
"We've only got a private tour for around 30 to 40 people, which is very low for the number on this cruise," Mr Griffiths said.
The wildlife park on the outskirts of Townsville is bracing for stronger numbers in the coming weeks with the arrival of international cruise ship passengers eager to see Australian animals.
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