| ACA Update 17 Mar 21

WITH Jill Abel, CEO, Australian Cruise Association – Start me up Scottie: Encouraging news out of Singapore with Dream Cruises and Marina Bay Cruise Centre announcing the 100,000th cruise passenger since the commencement of their COVID safe program “Safe Pilot Cruises” in Nov 2020.
This milestone is a beacon for other countries approaching cruise re-start, illustrating that when industry and Govt work together following a stringent set of protocols and procedures guided by good science, successful outcomes can follow.
The UK industry has also announced their plans to begin cruising in May with their strategy to encourage domestic cruising closely aligning with our proposed pathway in Australia.
We are hopeful that these success stories will build confidence with the Government to green light our start-up here.
The cruise industry has traditionally provided much needed economic support for regional communities around the Australian coastline.
While the Government has recognised the importance of some of these communities with the discounted airfare program, a long term sustained approach is needed to make sure the money flows to all levels of the community.
Cruising allows this to happen with port fees and refuelling through to the support of local tour operators, guides and experiences along with dollars going into f&b outlets.
This much-needed support comes from both crew and passengers who are regular visitors.
We look forward to ongoing discussions with the Govt and more urgency focused on the industry start-up for the economic good of the country.