It must be terribly frustrating to be in Joel Katz, CLIA Managing Director Australasia’s shoes right now with it having become very clear indeed, that nobody in the federal government appears to be listening to his pleas to the government to make at least some progress to restart cruising in Australia.
Joel we feel for you and it is incredulous, that all your attempts appear to be being ignored!
In the meantime, CLIA is trying again to gain the attention of the government to the plight of everyone associated with cruising by launching a new phase of its Ready, Set, Sail campaign in response to ongoing government inaction over the future of Australian cruising.
Following the Federal Government’s extension of Australia’s cruise suspension last week – with no progress on a framework for cruising’s resumption – CLIA has urged travel agents, industry stakeholders, and other supporters to send a new message to state and federal parliamentarians.
The campaign directs supporters to an online tool at www.ReadySetSail.com.au where they can message politicians quickly and easily. Users can generate instant emails to local MPs and key Ministers or personalise a message to tell of their own story and circumstances.
Joel said an initial Ready, Set, Sail campaign launched in May had resulted in more than 40,000 emails to MPs around Australia and helped to change the political conversation around cruising.
“Politicians are increasingly acknowledging the need to revive the cruise economy, but we need them to do more so we can get detailed plans in place,” Joel said. “We need to break the cycle of inaction and achieve firm plans for a careful revival of cruising.”
CLIA has called for cruising to be included in the four-phase National Plan to reopen Australia and wind back travel restrictions. The association has outlined its own four-phase pathway to cruising’s revival – based on the same vaccination targets used in the National Plan – and is seeking urgent discussions to agree on a detailed framework for implementation.
“Australia is the only major cruise destination in the world where governments have made no progress towards a responsible resumption of cruising, despite months of discussions and the availability of stringent new health protocols in response to Covid-19,” Joel saying, “With our supporters’ help, we want to send a clear message that Australians deserve a detailed plan for our industry’s revival.”
To join the Ready, Set, Sail campaign, visit www.ReadySetSail.com.au and use the template to reach MPs.
A report by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor, Global Travel Media and Global Cruise News.
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