‘Disappointing’: Aussies can cruise overseas but not here
The cruise industry is furious that Aussies will soon be able to sail out of foreign ports, but not local ones – and the government doesn’t even want to talk about it.
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Furious cruise industry bosses say a return to the high seas is looking less and less likely in 2021, as the federal government drags its heels on talks to resume business.
As Australia prepares to throw open its international borders, Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) managing director Joel Katz said he had heard radio silence on his requests for meetings with Canberra, leaving the industry and travellers rudderless.
Mr Katz said the poor consultation had made for the bizarre — and imminent — situation where cruise-lovers could board a plane and take a cruise overseas, but not depart on one from their local port.
“We’ve written to most of the senior ministers … and we‘ve either had holding responses back, or ‘we’ll get back to you in due course’ kinds of responses,” Mr Katz said.
The cruise sector’s concerns have been echoed by other tourism business bosses, desperately seeking clarity from the federal government on matters such as when vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed into the country and how long the seven-day home quarantine regime is likely to operate.
The first opening of the international border is just weeks away and Qantas has announced the resumption of overseas flights from November 14.
Mr Katz said the cruise sector had been trying to get government approval for the health protocols they would use to restart operations, but without response.
“We’ve been saying to the government: cruise has long lead times. It’s going to take 60 to 90 days to get ships up and running, to get crews vaccinated and trained and bring them back to Australia. We really need to be starting to have those discussions now, regardless of what the actual start date is.”
Mr Katz said some Australians will shortly be heading overseas to go on cruises while the industry is still shuttered here – a situation he described as “astounding” and “disappointing”.
Cruising remains suspended on health orders until December 17, but there has been no indication from the government whether operations could return on December 18, or whether it will be in 2022.
“Our members, our travel agents and the broader cruise community are really seeing that the government has been disrespectful to an industry that employs 18,000 Australians and generates more than $5 billion to the Australian economy,” Mr Katz said.
“Nobody is expecting that cruise is going to restart immediately, and nobody’s expecting cruising will restart the same way it was operating pre-Covid, but what we’re saying to the government is let’s sit down and let’s plan what a carefully managed cruise resumption looks like.”
Calls for greater consultation have come from others sectors, too, especially since the Prime Minister’s announcement last week about the reopening of international borders.
Philip Goh, Regional Vice President for the International Air Transport Association, said it was “essential that the Australian government steps up its engagement with the aviation sector, to help airlines prepare for the safe and efficient reopening of Australia’s borders.”
Questions over the seven-day home quarantine system are especially pertinent. While it might seem less onerous than a 14-day hotel stay under armed guard, a seven-day home stay is still expected to act as a major brake on tourists actually coming to Australia.
Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David said the airline was working with government on a way forward.
“We’re hoping to get some confidence built that the seven days becomes 72 hours, and then gets removed altogether,” he said.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents chair Tom Manwaring said the industry needed detail across every step of how travel will happen – partly for their own planning but also for informing clients.
“It can’t be done just by saying Australia is open for business,” he said.
While the opening of the international borders was an important milestone, Mr Manwaring said, the reality was travel agents would continue to need government support for some time.
“When travel resumes, the industry is gong to be waiting for major revenues and cashflow for the next six to nine months,” he said.
“For retail and hospitality, once lockdown is lifted they can start trading again, but we’re still restricted by the lack of supply, with limited airlines flying and no cruise ships. Most of our remuneration comes after departure,” Mr Manwaring said.
Chief executive of Adelaide-based Phil Hoffman Travel Peter Williams said the industry needed clarification around quarantine arrangements, the status of non-TGA-approved vaccines, the resumption of cruising, and sector-specific support.
“As one of the last countries to open up, supply is going to be an issue into 2022. We’ve been left with little product to sell – most of it is being snapped up by international demand,” Mr Williams said.
Australians wanting to travel overseas in 2022 should contact their agents now for best options, he said.
Tourism Minister Dan Tehan maintained the government was in “continuous dialogue with the aviation, cruise and tourism sectors” and had supported the industry through JobKeeper, the $1 billion Covid-19 Relief and Recovery Fund, the $1.2 billion aviation and tourism support package, and various cost-sharing programs with state and territory governments.
“We are working closely with the industry to understand how we can best support businesses through this time, including providing weekly webinars with the tourism industry run by Austrade,” Mr Tehan said.
DIFFERENT STORY OVERSEAS
While the Australian tourism sector struggles to be heard, its overseas counterparts have had more success in convincing governments it can operate in a Covid-safe manner.
Nearly two million passengers have sailed on more than 1000 ships since cruising resumed in key markets, while a number of companies including Norwegian Cruise Lines have mandated Covid-19 vaccinations for crew and passengers.
“They’ve operated, using the protocols that we’re proposing here, and they’ve worked as planned, even in countries where Covid is much more endemic than it is here,” Mr Katz said.
“In America they have seen [Covid] cases pop up, but the protocols have worked and they’ve effectively been able to be managed in a cruise environment,” he said.
In England, the tourism industry has welcomed new simplified rules for safe Covid-19 travel, replacing the old “traffic light” system which had been criticised for being confusing, overly onerous and costing travellers too much money.
Under the new system, which started on Monday, fully vaccinated travellers will be able to fly in to England from most countries without needing to quarantine. Hotel quarantine and extensive testing remain in place for unvaccinated travellers, and those coming from countries with bad outbreaks.
The US tourism sector is also experiencing signs of recovery. According to the US Travel Association, tourism spending in the US reached $100 billion in July, which was just 5 per cent below what it was in July 2019.
But the International Air Transport Association has warned that the situation remains grim for many airlines.
“We are seeing movement in the right direction, particularly in some key domestic markets. But the situation for international travel is nowhere near where we need to be. June should be the start of peak season, but airlines were carrying just 20 per cent of 2019 levels. That’s not a recovery, it’s a continuing crisis caused by government inaction,” IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said.
Originally published as ‘Disappointing’: Aussies can cruise overseas but not here
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