THE New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA) is urging industry stakeholders to contact the country’s Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis, and lobby local Members of Parliament to urge a return to local cruising, with the message “Kiwi Cruising for Kiwis”. The move follows last week’s “hugely disappointing” announcement by the New Zealand...
THE New Zealand Cruise Association (NZCA) is urging industry stakeholders to contact the country’s Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis, and lobby local Members of Parliament to urge a return to local cruising, with the message “Kiwi Cruising for Kiwis”.
The move follows last week’s “hugely disappointing” announcement by the New Zealand Government which indefinitely pushed back the current suspension of cruise ships in NZ waters (CW 24 Jun).
“We believe this to be a purely political position taken in light of the recent events within our quarantine processing systems,” the NZCA said, referring to the return of COVID-19 to the country after two infected international travellers were allowed to leave isolation to attend a funeral.
The NZCA said it believed the decision to extend the ban was taken “without consideration of actual ‘risk’ to New Zealanders… and it was an easy tool to throw at the ensuing unrest in a bid to calm nervous communities”.
The Association said it would continue to lobby for the return of ships offering New Zealand as soon as possible.
“We have cruise lines with fleet ready and willing to deploy to our country to do just this, to provide us with the support desperately needed within our towns, cities and countryside.
“This is the exact restart we need,” the NZCA added, noting a huge appetite for domestic cruising programs and for the relief the spending would bring to the country’s regions.
“We know that Kiwis love to cruise and right now our options for travel are severely limited like no other time in our history.”
Domestic cruising around New Zealand would also pave the way for trans-Tasman cruising once a travel bubble with Australia becomes a reality, with the NZCA suggesting stakeholders stress to officials the “real opportunity that is being lost right now, daily”.
“An opportunity lost right now in a period where there is so little opportunity, is almost criminal in itself,” the Association said.
The organisation has been working on an internal NZCA Cruise Recovery Plan which is constantly evolving due to the changing political and scientific situations around COVID-19.
“We need you to be vocal, we need you to be active, we need your support more than ever,” the Association said, suggesting the industry contact Kelvin Davis on k.davis@ministers.govt.nz.
