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Cruise Industry Builds Positive Momentum for Restart of Operations
Cruise Industry Builds Positive Momentum for Restart of Operations
Cruising offers one of the best ways to see the world, and this holds truer today than ever before thanks to the enhanced health and safety protocols that cruise lines have adopted in response to the global pandemic.
It is safe to say that COVID-19 has been the greatest challenge to ever confront our industry. From the global halting of operations, to the relentless effort to repatriate passengers and crew in the face of border closures and travel restrictions, over the past 12 months we have witnessed the unwavering resiliency, unity, and innovative spirit that defines our industry and all those who are a part of it.
Despite facing such arduous challenges, the cruise industry did not give up; instead, it forged ahead and immediately shifted focus to find ways to return to the sea with multiple layers of protective health and safety measures. Cruise lines resolved to make science-led, people-first decisions at every step, consulting with scientists, medical experts and local governments to develop COVID-19 protocols to mitigate risk while still maintaining the magic of a cruise holiday.
These measures are being put to the test as we speak, with impressive results. More than 350,000 passengers have sailed on a variety of modified itineraries from Europe and parts of Asia under strict protocols since last summer, with more countries anticipated to come online in the near future. Although we do not always hear about the sailings that occur without a hitch, the success of these initial voyages clearly demonstrates that the new protocols are working as designed – to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 among passengers, crewmembers, and the destinations cruise ships visit.
The feedback from passengers has been overwhelmingly positive, and this is consistent with research and booking trends. A recent survey from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows widespread support for the measures that cruise lines have agreed to adopt. Even more encouraging is the fact that demand for cruising remains high, with nearly 75% of cruisers from across the world indicating that they are likely to cruise again in the next few years, and two out of three cruisers indicating that they will cruise within the next year.
As I begin my global chairmanship of CLIA, I am committed to continuing to build on this tremendous progress. Our success in Europe and parts of Asia are strong indicators that a resumption of cruising is possible, and the learnings from these experiences could serve as a blueprint for resumption in North America and the Caribbean. Moreover, the introduction of multiple COVID-19 vaccines is driving a sense of hope across the entire travel and tourism sector, the cruise industry included. Our community is poised to reach new heights as we work to overcome the impacts of the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever.
With that said, much work lies ahead. The pandemic and the subsequent suspension of cruising has had devastating economic consequences on our community, especially in the industry’s largest markets in North America and the Caribbean where cruising has been suspended for over a year. The cruise industry supports jobs across multiple sectors and geographies – tourism in large and small cruise ports, travel agents, food and beverage services suppling vessels, the airports, hotels, restaurants and transportation businesses utilized by passengers and crew, pilots who dock ships, and the personnel who load and unload ships. Unfortunately, as of last September, the worldwide impact of the pause in operations was estimated to be $77 billion, 518,000 jobs and $23 billion in wages lost. These numbers tell the story of real people and businesses whose livelihoods have been upended by the current situation.
Thus, there is an urgency with which we are working to bring cruising back. As an industry, we share in the excitement around the potential of the COVID-19 vaccines to help quicken the pace of recovery from the pandemic. We are cautious, however, that there remain some unanswered questions regarding the vaccines and that it will take some time for the rollout to be complete. For these reasons, and based on the insights and continued guidance from leading experts in health and science, we remain committed to our multi-layered approach.
As we mark one year since the world was brought to a standstill as a result of COVID-19, it is starting to feel as though the much anticipated “new normal” is on the horizon. More and more people are getting vaccinated every day, and our knowledge about the virus itself has improved immensely since this time last year. As we work to reopen in more markets, collaboration with local governments and other stakeholders is a critical priority, and we will continue to be led by the science in our pursuit of bringing ships back to sea and serving as a bridge to economic recovery.
Rest assured, we have every reason to be optimistic. Although we still have much work ahead of us, we have made it this far and have the tenacious determination to keep working on behalf of our members, crews and passengers.
I have faith in the resiliency of the cruise industry, its leadership, partners, crew, destinations and passengers. We have been through so much with this global pandemic, but there are much better days ahead for our industry and the whole world. Hold on to that hope and know that we will be back soon, stronger and better than before.
Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises, was appointed to a two-year term as global chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in January 2021.
