Spread the love

In what some might say could appear to be rather a last-ditch attempt to get the Prime Minister to listen, when all else appears to have failed, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says that it has written to Scott Morrison seeking a breakthrough in discussions over the industry’s future ahead of next month’s review of Australia’s cruise suspension.

CLIA Managing Director Joel Katz told Global Travel Media that the industry had renewed its call for cruising to be included in Australia’s four-phase plan for reopening and was seeking further discussions on a framework for resumption before the current suspension ends on September 17, 2021.

He added, “We can’t simply extend the cruise suspension yet again without having a plan for the future,” adding, “We need the Prime Minister to provide a breakthrough and allow detailed discussions to move forward, so we can have certainty for the 18,000 Australians whose jobs depend on cruising.”

With the inclusion of the phrase “and allow detailed discussions to move forward,”, many in the sector will be very disappointed, as from previous comments about ongoing discussions with the government,  it has now become clear that there appear to be no ongoing discussions, and the comment by CLIA recently that the government has made no progress towards the resumption of cruising, now very disappointingly appears to be accurate.

Katz added that Australia remained one of the only major cruise markets in the world where governments had yet to achieve progress on a resumption of cruising and that this was despite 12 months of discussions with governments and the availability of stringent Covid-19 health protocols. which were already working successfully where cruising had resumed overseas.

He added, “With the release of the Doherty advice, it is clear there is an opportunity to align a carefully managed cruise restart with the national four-phase plan,” and “This should be highly achievable – the new health measures cruise lines have adopted globally are the most stringent to be found anywhere in tourism”, adding, “Already more than 900,000 people have sailed successfully overseas, providing extensive insight and evidence to support a resumption in Australia”.

Katz said, “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 resumption,” adding, “It can take months to prepare for operations, so we need to be having those detailed discussions now to ensure we’re ready for a careful resumption when conditions allow.”

A report by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor, Global Travel Media and Global Cruise News.