Cruise borders simplified

[woodscruise]

The Australian Border Force (ABF) wants trials to simplify trans-Tasman travel expand to involve cruise, Commissioner Michael Outram told the Tourism & Transport Forum’s Outlook Tourism Conference last week. The ABF, along with a working group made up of travel stakeholders, is currently trialling contactless outbound travel, working with airlines to collect the data required for Australia’s incoming passenger card through a mobile app. This would then be securely transmitted to immigration, and see travellers pass through a SmartGate without even showing their passport. Outram said the ABF is going to recommend the trial expands to include cruising. “The cruise industry does a lot of things in the United States around pre-clearance of passengers [and] biometrics, that I think would be really useful across the trial of our region,” Outram said. “We’re going to recommend the trans-Tasman trials expand to include cruise.” The goal would be the elimination of the much-maligned incoming passenger card, which passengers have been promised would be retired many times. “We’re also thinking about inbound contactless [travel and] if we can get rid of the inbound passenger card [and] collect that data before you travel,” he added. Outram said if the ABF and Australia’s inbound industry does not further digitise in the next decade, the risk profile presented will be far harder to manage, as the country faces a projected 50% increase in travellers over the next decade. “We’re never going to get thousands more officers [and] government budgets are tight, so how are we going to manage that increase in travellers? Outram said travellers are not going to want to line-up at airports or cruise terminals. “If we’re not digital by then, it’ll be very hard to manage that risk manually...it really is about the data, it’s about AI driving a lot of our decision-making...so the vast majority of low-risk travellers can come straight through.”

 

Source Cruise Weekly 17June 2024.

 

Anything to get rid of the incoming passenger cards would be a good thing. When we just arrived back from Thailand the only time, we needed the incoming card was for customs and quarantine. We used the smart gates for are arrival and departure.

[Mycruiseobsession]

Just throwing  it out there but I think this will catch the Centrelink dodgers.

 

Current cruise travel system doesn't show they left the country. It's not automatically updated through Centrelink: Immigration  data sharing. If they don't  manually advise  on their own Centrelink  accounts "intention to travel" It's  not often they will pick it up unless someone "dobs" or it's  picked up accidentally  in discussion.

 

There are people that would lose certain parts of their benefits if they left Australia for a period of time - this is usually data matched at airports but not always cruises.

Edited June 17 by Mycruiseobsession

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

Just throwing  it out there but I think this will catch the Centrelink dodgers.

 

Current cruise travel system doesn't show they left the country. It's not automatically updated through Centrelink: Immigration  data sharing. If they don't  manually advise  on their own Centrelink  accounts "intention to travel" It's  not often they will pick it up unless someone "dobs" or it's  picked up accidentally  in discussion.

 

There are people that would lose certain parts of their benefits if they left Australia for a period of time - this is usually data matched at airports but not always cruises.

I remember about 30 years ago me and a mate was on the rock and roll.

We did a  scuba diving trip to Guam and the big ship graveyard in Truk lagoon.

We put our form in on the way to the  the airport and when we got back.

Immigration just wanted to ask how our holiday was because they were diving enthusiast.

 

The good old days before the internet.

Edited June 17 by Chiliburn

[arxcards]

In the case of domestic cruise departures, mostly full of Aussies, they have already screened the passenger folio prior to return and the incoming passenger card is just collected as you stroll past. Outgoing cards are no big deal for us when cruising, as we have spare cards that we fill out on the train on the way to the ship.

 

It will certainly smooth things considerably in the airports, and could make cruise embarkation even slicker, if they don't swap the improved efficiencies for reduced staff.

[Jean C]

12 hours ago, arxcards said:

... if they don't swap the improved efficiencies for reduced staff.

Hahaha, you wish 😄

[ilikeanswers]

Four years ago I was part of a test group that looked into three digital versions of the incoming passenger card. I have to say the ones we tested did make it easier to understand our quarantine rules on the the other hand you would need a phone or computer to fill it because it is meant to be done before you board your flight. 

[colourbird]

On our last few Aussie cruises (from 2022) we haven't needed to complete and hand in any incoming passenger forms.