Meetings & Events
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Differentiation, Diversity, Direct Engagement and Proactivity Propelling the Industry to New Records and Beyond
xcitement surged throughout the room with cruise executives and stakeholders celebrating the industry welcoming 30 million guests and record performances for most of those gathered at the Seatrade Cruise Global State of the Industry Address. The numbers and industry’s global growth were the focus of Adam Goldstein, Vice Chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and CLIA Global Chair, who fielded an interview with Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UNWTO—an industry first and symbol of cruising’s role on the world stage—before a two-part roundtable. Having sailed full steam ahead for so long as the fastest-growing sector in the leisure travel market and continually breaking records, a slowdown is expected by many, including roundtable moderator Lucy Hockings of BBC World News. “It will happen sooner or later, but there’s nothing that I see—certainly by 24 SECOND QUARTER 2019 | TRAVEL & CRUISE
the numbers that my three brands are posting—that would suggest any kind of slowdown is in the horizon,” encouraged Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
“…THERE’S NOTHING THAT I SEE…THAT WOULD SUGGEST ANY KIND OF SLOWDOWN IS ON THE HORIZON.” —FRANK DEL RIO, PRESIDENT & CEO, NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS
“We are a very small industry,” told Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc, informing that cities like Orlando and Las Vegas have more annual tourists, with 70 and 40 million, respectively. After somewhat tempering the crowd, while also motivating about growth potential, Donald continued with an advantage this smallness and nimbleness allows: “We’re able to find enough people…” And there are a lot of people already interested in cruising with it growing as a mainstream option and continuing to engage everyone from experience-seeking Millennials to multi-generational families – plus, there could be more coming, with Donald sharing that the retiree population, a perfect fit for cruising because they certainly have “some time and a little bit of money,” has expanded dramatically and will probably almost double in the next 10-15 years.
