After five months of zero cruise traffic to the French territory in the Pacific, cruise ships are finally coming back to New Caledonia.
Political unrest and riots in May of this year led to a halt in cruise ship visits to the area that is east of Australia.
But earlier this month, one of the ports in the archipelago welcomed the first cruise ship back and celebrated the occasion.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions was the first to send a cruise ship back to the area with Orion visiting the Lifou port.
Shortly after this visit, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean also confirmed their future visits back to the area as well.
On November 10, Ovation of the Seas is scheduled to visit Port Nouméa in New Caledonia, and Carnival Splendor will visit the same port on both November 17 and 19.
December and January’s schedules to different ports around New Caledonia are getting busier as well, with Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Holland American Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line offering ports of call.
New Caledonia’s Director of Tourism, Eric Meura, commented on the significance of cruise ships coming back to the territory:
“The return of cruises to Lifou is a testament to the resilience and determination of our people and partners. We are excited to once again showcase the beauty and culture of New Caledonia to the world,” Meura stated.
The Nouméa and Lifou ports in New Caledonia received almost 350,000 cruise passengers in 2023 alone, bringing in an estimated $27 million in revenue.
The tourism industry is hopeful that the return of cruise ships will boost the local economy that was badly hurt by the geopolitical unrest.