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    Coronavirus hits $45 bn cruise industry: Travellers opt for itinerary changes; Egypt, Sri Lanka packages gain popularity

    Synopsis

    The industry experts are positive things would bounce back to normal soon.

    cruise-germany_iStockiStock
    The coronavirus outbreak is letting people get a little more creative with their choice of destination.
    The cruise industry is one of the fastest-growing categories in the leisure travel market. But this industry, which has been valued globally at $45 billion, has taken a hit due to the growing uncertainty of the coronavirus. Earlier this month over 600 Carnival’s Diamond Princess passengers had to remain on their ship in "chaotic conditions" after testing positive for coronavirus. Passengers described their 10-day quarantine was like being held “hostage.” Two passengers later died after leaving the ship which was docked in Japan. Norwegian Cruises, and Royal Caribbean Cruises recently announced they’d cancelled nearly 40 cruises and rerouted over 40.

    The impact
    “The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. At this time, we have made a number of itinerary changes and none of our vessels are currently calling to ports in mainland China. We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern. All itineraries that call in mainland China for the next six months are currently under review,” said a representative from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

    Nishith Saxena, Founder & Director, Cruise Professionals says that while it would be incorrect to say that business has not been impacted, the degree and nature of impact differs based on the number of vessels and deployment across the globe. “Cruise lines with 1-2 vessels and heavily focused on Asia deployment are surely more prone to suffer due to current health situation, but cruise lines having larger fleet and deployment in Americas, Australia, Europe & Polar regions are somewhat insulated from the impact. The slow-down we are witnessing is not abnormal during these weeks as the booking rush increases soon after the board exams get over. Last year, the General Election caused a similar slowdown.”

    According to travel companies, the outbreak is letting people get a little more creative with their choice of destination. Since China is the epicentre of the outbreak, companies have found that people are looking at other options that they wouldn’t normally consider.

    Daniel D’souza, President and Country Head, Leisure, SOTC Travel adds that they are updating their customers and offering alternative destinations at “attractive prices”. “Egypt, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Seychelles Cruise Packages are doing well. There has been an increased interest for cruise tourism internationally. Scandinavia and Bahamas are gaining popularity,” says D’souza.

    However, Saxena says that the industry is one of the most resilient and that things should bounce back to normal soon. “In the last 3 decades, we have witnessed several health scares including Mad-Cow disease, Ebola Virus, SARS, Nipah, Swine Flu, Zika Virus in addition to wars in middle-east, political unrest in several countries across the globe and each time, the cruise industry has bounced back with more and better options therefore passenger sales has rarely dropped, even if, it is temporary. Cruise business is not about now, but aspirational and future sales and almost all bookings which we handle are to be consumed several months later.”


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