AUSTRALIAN Cruise Association (ACA) Chief Executive Officer Jill Abel believes this year’s downturn in economic output for the sector (CW yesterday) may take as long as two years to recover. Abel, speaking to CW in the wake of this week’s economic impact report, said the extended scheduling timeline the cruise...
AUSTRALIAN Cruise Association (ACA) Chief Executive Officer Jill Abel believes this year’s downturn in economic output for the sector (CW yesterday) may take as long as two years to recover.
Abel, speaking to CW in the wake of this week’s economic impact report, said the extended scheduling timeline the cruise sector works on means the industry should not expect to see figures jump straight back up.
“I think it’s going to take a couple of years…we are doing projections, we believe this is going to take another 12 months to 24 months before we start to see that growth,” Abel conceded.
However the ACA head said the Australian cruise sector should not take any return to form for granted, and that industry and government needs to work together to reverse the course.
“We need to act and be proactive right now, and not rest on our laurels and think it’s all going to come back on its own,” she said.
Cruise Lines International Association MD Joel Katz told CW: “An individual state or territory or region can’t work in isolation when it comes to cruise.
“We need to bring it all together under a national framework so that we can absolutely maximise the potential here in Australia, get those policy settings correct, reduce the red tape, and give the cruise lines the certainty they need for that long-term planning so that we can get those ships back Down Under.” MS
