CLIIA demands urgent talks for Australia cruise restart

Cruise industry leaders want urgent talks with Australian governments as patience wears thin over inaction for a cruise industry restart.

CLIA Australasia warns Australia is being left behind as other countries rebuild their cruising industries.

Responding to Thursday’s extension of Australia’s cruise suspension, it said Australia had become the only major cruise destination in the world where governments had made no progress on plans for a revival.

Discussions were needed to finalise a pathway forward, initially for cruises carrying domestic guests within Australia.

"Our discussions with government agencies have gone nowhere and our letters to the most senior levels of government have gone unanswered," said CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said.

"Other countries have not only created detailed plans to uphold safety on cruise ships in response to the pandemic, but have already resumed cruising in a responsible way.

"More than a million passengers have sailed successfully in countries where cruising has resumed – with strict health protocols in place – but in Australia our calls for detailed discussions with health authorities have been ignored."

"Now that Australian governments have agreed on a four-phase plan for reopening with specific vaccination targets in place, we need to ensure cruising can be part of this plan," Katz said.

"CLIA has outlined its own four-phase pathway to cruising’s revival, so we need governments to break the cycle of inaction and discuss how to put plans in place now."