Abstract
The cruise ship industry is one of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism sector. In 2019, the industry transported over 30 million passengers across the world, creating over 1.11 million jobs. In as much as the industry plays such a significant role to global and regional economies, it remains vulnerable to a cocktail of challenges, including disease outbreaks. The chapter documents the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global cruise ship industry. Secondary data and document analyses were the main forms of data collection used, while content and thematic analyses were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the COVID-19 outbreak imposed both economic and human costs to the industry. The outbreak decimated the industry, which saw the value of shipping companies’ stock falling by up to 80% in March 2020, with major sources of revenue shut due to the suspension of cruises. With no bailout packages in many instances, the industry faced bankruptcy and imminent collapse. COVID-19 also left the industry facing several criminal investigations and lawsuits due to passenger infections on board. Some ships were denied access to ports and medical facilities on land due to fear of spreading the virus. Those that got access were not allowed disembarkations, with passengers often quarantined for days or weeks. This resulted in additional infections, trauma and psychological stress of the passengers. Probably the biggest loss the industry has incurred is reputational damage, and this has had the potential to impact negatively on its ability to recover after the COVID-19 shock. Through improved public health standards, aggressive marketing and the offering of massive discounts, the industry has the potential to rebound from the COVID-19 disaster. These stand out as the chapter’s key recommendations.
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Notes
- 1.
The exchange rate averaged US$1 = ZAR19 in April 2020.
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Nhamo, G., Dube, K., Chikodzi, D. (2020). Counting the Cost of COVID-19 on Global Cruise Ship Industry. In: Counting the Cost of COVID-19 on the Global Tourism Industry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56231-1_6
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