| CLIA Update 08 Sep 21

WITH Joel Katz, MD, CLIA Australasia – Australia is falling behind: Last week’s extension of Australia’s cruise suspension is another devastating blow for our industry, and puts us further behind the rest of the world in implementing future plans.

Yet again, the Australian Government has announced an extension of its cruise ban without committing to any framework for future operations.

Our industry and the cruising public have again been left in limbo, while the jobs of more than 18,000 Australians remain in doubt.

Elsewhere, more than a million passengers have sailed successfully in countries where cruising has resumed.

Across Europe, the United States, the Caribbean and parts of Asia, cruise lines are already operating with stringent new health protocols in place.

There’s no reason why we can’t achieve similar success in our own region.

Now that Australian governments have agreed on a four-phase plan for reopening, we need to ensure cruising can be part of this.

CLIA has outlined its own four-phase pathway (click here) to cruising’s revival, so we need governments to break the cycle of inaction.