| CLIA update 16 June 21: End the inaction!

WITH Joel Katz, MD, CLIA Australasia:
In the past few days, the number
of passengers who have cruised
internationally reached 550,000
since operations resumed last year –
yet another important milestone for
our industry.
Frustratingly, none of these
passengers sailed from Australia,
and we are now the only major
cruise market in the world where the
government has made no progress
towards a resumption.
Last week’s decision to extend the
cruise suspension for another three
months was not unexpected, but the
absence of any plan for the future
has come as a further blow to an
industry that has spent months in
discussions with government.
Recent comments by federal
Minister for Tourism Dan Tehan
in support of cruising have been
encouraging and perhaps reflect the
campaigning our sector has been
doing alongside that of the wider
travel and tourism industry.
However, it would be good to
see these words translate into a
concrete plan, without which 18,000
Australian jobs are in doubt.
Cruise Lines International
Association has voiced its alarm at
the lack of progress in Australia and
is calling on state and federal govts
to take real steps forward.
Our industry’s new health
measures are already in place
and working successfully in other
countries.
It’s now time to break the cycle
of inaction in Australia and work
towards achieving this here too.