A cruise company that left customers out thousands of dollars when it cancelled its voyages earlier this year was advertising trips it did not have a licence to operate.
Island Escape Cruises NZ charged about $15,000 for voyages along the Kimberley coast and accepted bookings up until July this year before entering receivership.
Dozens of customers are out of pocket, and the federal government has now revealed the company never applied for the required licence to operate.
No application received
The company's website advertised 10-day interstate voyages between Broome and Darwin, which require a coastal trading temporary licence from the Australian government.
However, a spokesperson from the Department of Infrastructure said it never received an application from the company to obtain the licence.
In a statement, the department said it "contacted Island Escape Cruises NZ on 22 July 2022 to provide advice that the proposed voyage would need to be conducted under a coastal trading licence."
But Island Escape Cruises NZ cancelled its interstate cruises and went into receivership shortly after.
Red flags raised
Local cruise liner Coral Expeditions commercial director Jeff Gillies said he raised concerns about Island Escape Cruises' ability to operate interstate before it entered into receivership.
The government conceded it was aware of the company's intention to set sail and had attempted to direct them to the relevant permits.
However, due to the cancellations, it was never followed up further.
Mr Gillies said he was concerned that foreign cruise companies were ruining the reputation of long-running local businesses.
"Nobody wants to be associated where there's bad customer care," he said.
"The reputational damage that can come from … people buying things that can't be delivered."
Cruise operators battle for goodwill
Mr Gillies said he believed foreign cruise companies were "opportunistic".
"They put out a range of itineraries and test the market with sales," he said.
"Then if one destination sells better than others and comes at a bit of a profit margin, they are quite comfortable to step away.
"You have the reputation issue of guests buying into what appears to be trips that can happen in the future and then being left stranded."
Mr Gillies said there needed to be greater protections for local companies competing against overseas giants.
"There's an opportunity at a state level to not kill the goose that laid the golden egg for tourism in the North-West of the country."
The Australian entity, Island Escape Cruises (Australia) Pty Ltd, is not in receivership.
