STORY BY PAUL HUGHES, 2023 - IMAGE SHOWS VI PONDERING WHAT DRINK TO GET THE ROBOTIC SERVERS TO MIX AT THE BIONIC BAR
Cruising is definitely back!
The cruise industry ground to a halt during the first years of Covid, which played havoc with the 330 million people working in travel and tourism.
The thousands of communities that rely on the influx of cruising tourists and the 30 million cruisers who felt they had lost their second home all suffered dramatically.
However, cruising is back and, in many ways, it's better than ever!
In November 2022 and again in January 2023 we took eight and 10 days cruises to the South Pacific Islands on Royal Caribbean’s “Quantum of the Seas”.
While we have experienced only the larger Royal Caribbean ships since cruising returned to the world, we did notice changes compared with our pre-pandemic trips, most of which should be noticeable with any good cruise line.
Learn more about these changes and discover why cruising is the best value holiday.
The Multiplier Effect
Tourism helps many communities to survive, and it's not only the cruise industry itself.
One of the world's largest cruise ships "Symphony of the Seas" carries 6,000 passengers and buys its produce from the main port of departure (and at ports of call on longer cruises).
In a seven-day cruise "Symphony" uses some 60,000 eggs; 6,800kgs (15,000 lbs) of beef; 1,200kgs of salmon; 950kgs of lobster tails; around 6,000kgs of flour and 5,000kgs of flour tortillas; 1,000kgs of wings; 9,000 kgs of potatoes and so much more, including more than six million coffee beans!
However, it is in the communities where the greatest hurt is felt by any downturn in travel.
Having worked in government tourism research, development and promotion I am aware that the tourist dollar has one of the largest multiplier effects than any other industry.
Below is one of many graphs that shows the impact of the tourist dollar from a business perspective.
The cruise industry ground to a halt during the first years of Covid, which played havoc with the 330 million people working in travel and tourism.
The thousands of communities that rely on the influx of cruising tourists and the 30 million cruisers who felt they had lost their second home all suffered dramatically.
However, cruising is back and, in many ways, it's better than ever!
In November 2022 and again in January 2023 we took eight and 10 days cruises to the South Pacific Islands on Royal Caribbean’s “Quantum of the Seas”.
While we have experienced only the larger Royal Caribbean ships since cruising returned to the world, we did notice changes compared with our pre-pandemic trips, most of which should be noticeable with any good cruise line.
Learn more about these changes and discover why cruising is the best value holiday.
The Multiplier Effect
Tourism helps many communities to survive, and it's not only the cruise industry itself.
One of the world's largest cruise ships "Symphony of the Seas" carries 6,000 passengers and buys its produce from the main port of departure (and at ports of call on longer cruises).
In a seven-day cruise "Symphony" uses some 60,000 eggs; 6,800kgs (15,000 lbs) of beef; 1,200kgs of salmon; 950kgs of lobster tails; around 6,000kgs of flour and 5,000kgs of flour tortillas; 1,000kgs of wings; 9,000 kgs of potatoes and so much more, including more than six million coffee beans!
However, it is in the communities where the greatest hurt is felt by any downturn in travel.
Having worked in government tourism research, development and promotion I am aware that the tourist dollar has one of the largest multiplier effects than any other industry.
Below is one of many graphs that shows the impact of the tourist dollar from a business perspective.
However, when tourism stops so do restaurants and coffee shops, entertainment businesses, transport operaters, suppliers of multiple goods and services and, important to most countries, the billions of dollars that are paid in various taxes that then help to provide roads, health care, social services and much more.
Welcome back to traveling the world again!
We have much more information on cruising.
Welcome back to traveling the world again!
We have much more information on cruising.
