THERE may be light at the end of the long dark cruising tunnel, with Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt last weekend commenting on the possibility that Australians might be cruising by Christmas.
While welcoming Hunt’s optimistic outlook, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia has tempered any excitement with a caution that due to the lead time for any deployments, departures around Easter-time, in early Mar 2022, are more likely.
CLIA MD Joel Katz told Cruise Weekly this morning that “discussions with the Federal Government are going well – we are engaging both at the political level and at the medical level”.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that the biosecurity ban won’t be extended,” he added, but with eight to 12 weeks required for ships to ramp up operations “we’re unlikely to see any cruise ships here by Christmas”.
The current ban on foreign cruise ships entering Australian waters expires on 17 Dec, and earlier this month National Cabinet “noted” a report on cruising (CW 08 Nov) while also highlighting the necessary involvement of states and territories which, once the ban is lifted, “will control the recommencement of cruises in each jurisdiction”.
Katz said the positive signals coming from Canberra had created new opportunities to engage with state and territory governments, who have until now been reluctant to progress discussions until there was more clarity on the ban.
He particularly highlighted comments from NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who last weekend noted that cruising was an important part of the state’s tourism mix.
Ongoing discussions with NSW authorities are hoped to lead to the finalisation of new health orders allowing cruises to resume, while CLIA is also similarly engaging with authorities in Vic and Qld, and in other states as they move closer to their post-COVID reopenings.
“We now need the states to buy in…we are leveraging all our discussions with various state governments to plot a way forward in earnest,” he said.
The CLIA MD also highlighted the successful resumption of cruising in other markets, where around 80 countries are already welcoming ships and close to four million people have sailed safely since the cruise restart.
“The protocols are working, and the overwhelming feedback from passengers is that the underlying cruise experience that they love so much is unaffected,” he said.
MEANWHILE the New Zealand Cruise Association has expressed hopes that progress in Australia may lead to a follow-on effect for the Kiwi cruise sector too.
NZCA CEO Kevin O’Sullivan said the successful engagement of the Australian cruise industry with state and federal governments was a stark contrast to the NZ situation where “our government agencies have been unwilling to discuss cruise ships coming back to New Zealand waters”.
“We have been advised that they are following the decisions made by Australia very closely, but we need much more than that…an official announcement that cruising will be back in Australia in Dec should be the push that our agencies need to begin work with us on a cruise restart for New Zealand.”
