CRUISE Lines International Association (CLIA) is set to establish a social media campaign to help rebuild the industry’s reputation, with the entire sector urged to participate and promote positive cruise messages in the face of recent adverse coverage. Speaking to members yesterday in an online webinar, CLIA MD Australasia Joel...
CRUISE Lines International Association (CLIA) is set to establish a social media campaign to help rebuild the industry’s reputation, with the entire sector urged to participate and promote positive cruise messages in the face of recent adverse coverage.
Speaking to members yesterday in an online webinar, CLIA MD Australasia Joel Katz said “we need to be telling people that cruising is neither the cause, nor the source, of COVID-19.
“This is a social virus that thrives anywhere that people come together – this is why gatherings are banned and restaurants are closed,” Katz said.
He said ongoing negative news stories about the industry were inevitable in the current situation.
“There’s no point in driving ourselves crazy about things we can’t control – we need to come together to combat the negativity to the best of our ability.”
Katz said CLIA’s maritime policy team was working to develop baseline health protocols for the resumption of the global cruise sector as soon as possible, covering items such as stringent screening, on-board medical facilities, protocols, crisis management and more.
“Once we know what those changes are, that will give us information you can get out to your customers to give them confidence that they can cruise again,” he added.
Social media assets are being developed for agents to share, with Katz urging the industry to tag any posts with #wearecruise to create a unified message.
“We have a tough road ahead, these messages are going to be important to restart the industry…at the end of the day whether you’re a travel agent or a CLIA executive partner, your voice is just as important in building an echo chamber of positive messaging,” Katz said.
He urged the industry to focus on the facts about the benefits cruising brings to the community, saying CLIA continued to engage with mainstream media to stress the industry’s contribution.
Katz highlighted resources on the COVID-19 page on the CLIA website at cruising.org.au, and offered extensive support for any members who wanted to speak to the media to put out positive stories about cruising.
In terms of a restart, Katz said his expectation was that cruising would resume gradually, particularly given the global leadership of Australia and New Zealand in dealing with COVID-19, with domestic and/or regional cruising likely to start up sooner than international voyages.
