CLIA Outlines Pathway for Cruising’s Revival in Australia

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has outlined a four-phase pathway for a careful resumption of cruising in Australia, designed to align with government plans to revive tourism and reopen borders as the country transitions its Covid-19 response.

The cruise pathway has been developed in response to the fourphase National Plan agreed to by Australia’s state and federal governments, which sets out key stages of reopening and the national vaccination targets that trigger them.

CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said that aligning the industry’s pathway with the government’s national plan would help provide certainty for the more than 18,000 Australians whose jobs rely on cruising. It would also allow the implementation of the extensive health protocols developed by cruise lines globally in response to Covid-19, which are already operating in other countries where cruising has restarted.

“This is about having plans agreed in advance so that we’re ready as conditions improve with the rising vaccination rate,” said Katz. “Australia’s governments have created a four-phase plan to reopen the country, and we’re now calling for our own four-phase pathway to be included in this process.”

Key goals in the cruise industry pathway are set against each of the four phases in Australia’s National Plan and can be adjusted to respond to evolving circumstances. They include: • Current Phase (vaccinate, prepare and pilot) – Achieving an agreement between governments and the cruise industry on a framework for cruising’s resumption and the implementation of the industry’s layered health protocols including testing and vaccination, with potential to pilot small domestic expedition cruises as health conditions allow • Vaccination Transition Phase (~70% of adult population vaccinated) – Resume limited domestic-only cruises within Australia, in line with the industry’s extensive health protocols. • Consolidation Phase (≥80% of adult population vaccinated) – Achieve more extensive domestic sailings and begin carefully controlled itineraries between Australia and New Zealand and other regional destinations when conditions allow, with ongoing health protocols in place. • Post Vaccination Phase – Resume carefully controlled international itineraries from Australian ports with ongoing health protocols in place.

Katz said Australia was now the only major cruise market in the world where governments had yet to achieve progress on a framework for cruising’s resumption.

“Almost 1 million people have successfully sailed in countries where cruising has already resumed, including in the US, Europe and parts of Asia,” he told. “Cruising involves long lead-times ahead of operations, so we need a plan in place now so we can work towards reviving an industry worth more than A$5 billion a year to communities around Australia.”

CLIA has written to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking a breakthrough in discussions over the industry’s future. The move comes as the Australian government prepares to consider its current cruise suspension, which is due for review in mid-September.

“We can’t simply extend the cruise suspension yet again without having a plan for the future,” said Katz. “We need the Prime Minister to provide a breakthrough and allow detailed discussions to move forward, so we can have certainty for the thousands of Australians whose jobs depend on cruising.

“Now that Australia has clear vaccination targets and a plan for reopening to travel, we need to ensure that cruising is included in this plan and that we have an agreed framework for the resumption of cruising.”

Meanwhile, CLIA has welcomed plans for a phased reopening of New Zealand’s borders as a positive step forward for the tourism sector, but says provisions for a careful resumption of local cruising should be included to help revive New Zealand jobs and businesses.

Responding to the New Zealand Government’s announcement on future Covid-19 measures and a phased opening of borders, Katz told New Zealand would also need an agreed framework to support tightly managed local cruise operations, beginning initially with domestic sailings or itineraries between New Zealand and Australia.

“As New Zealand plans for its reopening, we need to discuss how to implement these health protocols locally so that we’re ready for a careful revival of cruising as soon as conditions allow,” he said.

Cruising is ordinarily worth around NZ$570 million a year to the New Zealand economy and supports thousands of local jobs, including in many regional locations around the country.

“This is a vital part of the New Zealand tourism economy, so we need to partner with government and work towards its revival,” continued Katz. “It’s not a matter of simply opening the doors – we need to agree on detailed plans for a carefully controlled resumption that starts small and moves forward in a way that works for New Zealand.” CRUISE INDUSTRY UNITES TO DISCUSS VISION FOR RECOVERY More than 800 cruise industry supporters from across Australia, New Zealand and Asia gathered online in August for a key forum on cruising’s path to recovery in the region, hosted by CLIA.

The event was held in lieu of CLIA’s annual Cruise360 Australasia conference, which was postponed due to an ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney, and brought together industry leaders from across the region and overseas.

Among international speakers were CLIA’s Global President and CEO Kelly Craighead; MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato; Regent Seven Seas Cruises President & CEO Jason Montague; and Cruise Critic Editor-inChief Colleen McDaniel.

In a State-of-the-Industry opening session, CLIA’s Kelly Craighead outlined the industry’s response to the global pandemic and its success in implementing the detailed new health protocols that have allowed cruising’s resumption in many parts of the world.

“Really, this has been done in partnership with destinations, with authorities at all levels,” said Craighead. “It’s the public-private partnership, and the cooperation, and the dialogue, that has proven successful around the globe.”

Craighead continued that close engagement with governments would also be the key to achieving resumption in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Asia.

“We do have to learn the lesson from the other markets, and probably the number one lesson is you only move forward when government and industry collaborate with one another,” she said.

Royal Caribbean Vice President & Managing Director Australia & New Zealand Gavin Smith said more detailed discussions with governments were needed to achieve a resumption of cruising in Australia and New Zealand.

“Our main request to government at the moment is everybody’s got a job to do – let’s not get distracted by the potential extension of the border closures, but we need to sit together and agree this framework to restart,” said Smith, who is CLIA’s Chair in Australasia.

“We’ve got to agree quarantine issues, the crew vaccination, testing, ventilation, isolation, evacuation, health reporting – there are a lot of issues that we’ve got to agree,” he continued. “So our advocacy is for those discussions to start now, not wait until December until we’re arguing about the next extension of the border closures. Let’s have that debate now.”

Another of the forum’s sessions addressed how the cruise sector is working to rebuild confidence, with Cruise Critic’s Colleen McDaniel sharing data on cruise passengers and their largely positive sentiment towards cruising’s revival. She was joined Regent Seven Seas’ Jason Montague, Royal Caribbean’s Vice President Asia Pacific Angie Stephen, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection Vice President Field Sales - North America Michelle Palma, who explained how cruise lines are rebuilding consumer confidence as they resume sailing.

A key session at the forum examined three pioneering regions of the world where cruising has resumed and looked at the partnerships that led to their success.

The panel involved MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato, who explained the health measures and processes that had allowed his line’s resumption in Italy and the Mediterranean, as well as CLIA’s Managing Director for UK & Ireland Andy Harmer, who looked at the UK’s shift in focus to a domestic market.

Singapore Tourism Board’s Director of Cruise Development Annie Chang explained how a government-industry partnership had driven the country’s early revival of cruising within a local bubble.

Other speakers at the forum included the President of Carnival Australia Sture Myrmell; the Chairman Asia Pacific of Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions Sarina Bratton; the Vice President & Managing Director of Norwegian Cruise Line Asia-Pacific Ben Angell; and the Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Virtuoso Michael Londregan.