The Cruise Industry in Crisis and 15 Other Top Tourism Stories This Week

Will Any Cruise Lines Have Ships at Sea by Monday? The cruise industry has had a spectacularly rotten week. Facing criticism from all sides, it looks increasingly unlikely that many lines will still be sailing as scheduled on Monday.

Travel Brands, Remember Who You Really Serve — The Traveling Public: The travel industry went from overtourism to no tourism in a matter of weeks. Why are so many brands acting like they aren’t in the midst of an existential challenge and period of violent change?

U.S. Adds UK and Ireland to Travel Ban for Foreign Nationals: No surprise on the suspension of travel from the UK and Ireland for foreign nationals as it was under consideration over the last few days because of the spike of coronavirus cases in the UK. It’s still not clear why they were exempt initially.

Princess Cruises Suspends Operations for 60 Days Amid Coronavirus Crisis: In some ways, this has felt inevitable. The cruise line at the center of the coronavirus crisis is temporarily ceasing operations. The question is whether this decision will be the first domino to fall.

Americans, Don’t Travel Abroad: U.S. State Department Gives Strongest Warning Yet: Where do we go next? That’s probably the question the tourism sector will be asking as a battered industry tries to comprehend and navigate such unprecedented travel restrictions on a global scale.

Nearly a Third of U.S. Travelers Defer Plans as Uncertainty Grows: Skift Research Survey: As coronavirus creeps closer to most Americans, more will cancel and defer travel. The data isn’t good, but it’s still less scary than the end-of-the-world social media posts would have you believe.

What Would a U.S. Travel Sector Bailout Look Like? It’s looking increasingly like the battered U.S. travel sector will be bailed out by the U.S. government. A recession’s impact on small businesses in the travel sector, though, is extremely worrisome.

Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Pays Price for Gambling Itself Away: The day of reckoning has come for Sihanoukville as an exodus of Chinese nationals and other tourists occurs. A correction should follow, but can the once popular town regain its soul?

Nearly a Third of U.S. Travelers Defer Plans as Uncertainty Grows: Skift Research Survey: As coronavirus creeps closer to most Americans, more will cancel and defer travel. The data isn’t good, but it’s still less scary than the end-of-the-world social media posts would have you believe.

Nothing Could Stop the Cruise Industry — Then Came Coronavirus: The cruise industry has weathered a lot of bad news unscathed. But the coronavirus crisis seems different. This could be a seminal moment for the industry — and not in a good way.

Coronavirus Panic Outlines Limits of Most Travel Insurance: Airline and online travel agencies have been under fire from legislators in recent years for their travel insurance marketing tactics. In these trying times, these companies now more than ever must provide greater transparency into what their policies do — and don’t — provide before consumers click the button to purchase.

Debt-Laden Samsonite Reels From Coronavirus Crisis Aftershocks: By itself, the coronavirus scare needn’t be like kryptonite to Samsonite, which has high gross margins. But the long-term double whammy of supply shocks (due to factory closings) and demand shocks (due to travelers pulling back on spending) may reduce the company’s ability to pay interest on its heavy debts.

Egyptian Tourism Entrepreneur Buys Stake in TUI: One of Warren Buffett’s best known bits of investment advice is: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” The fundamentals for TUI still look good, so Hamed El Chiaty might have just struck a bargain deal for himself.

Introducing the 2020 Skift IDEA Awards: We’re announcing the Skift IDEA Awards, the annual recognition of excellence in Innovation, Design, and Experiences across the traveler journey. Apply by April 17 for early submission rates!

Baltimore Tourism Rebrands to Show More of the City Beyond Violent Crime Stereotypes: Baltimore has strong tourism offerings, but those unfamiliar with the city may have trouble looking past the headlines about violent crime. The tourism board is ready to take control of that narrative.