Why the Cruise Industry Stands Out for Diversity in Its Leadership
Photo Credit: Carnival's Christine Duffy, Celebrity's Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Princess Cruises' Jan Swartz at Skift Global Forum 2018. Skift
Skift Take
Cruising has embraced diversity in leadership and diversity in experiences for consumers in recent years. This bodes well for the industry as it continues a concerted effort to get more people to try cruising.
In contrast to hotels and airlines, cruising has more women in leadership positions across the sector. The rise of female leadership in cruising, though, is only the beginning.
"We all know that our industry is relatively young and everything takes time," said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises at Skift Global Forum in New York City on Friday. "It's no secret that the cruise lines were started by men and throughout time that baton was handed off to men. Over time, women were in other positions that made them ready (for executive leadership positions)."
Since cruise lines run global operations, selling to a diverse set of vacationers around the world, creative problem-solving is a huge advantage. The more diverse a cruise line's leadership team is, the more flexible they are at solving cruiser pain points and improving the cruise experience.
"When you have a group or team with diverse backgrounds, you get to creative outcomes faster," said Jan Swartz,
