Caribbean Destinations Forced to Rethink Tourism Strategies as Cruises Face Huge Challenges
Photo Credit: Back in the day, ships like this one from Crown Princess, picture here in Barbados, were among the drivers of local tourism in the Caribbean. Flickr / Onion
Skift Take
The world’s primary cruise destination, the Caribbean, has been reeling from the prolonged absence of cruise lines. But there’s no going back to multiple big ships anytime soon — a silver lining for destinations pushed now to maximize quality over quantity with smaller scale, high-value and green tourism.
While the pandemic dealt a huge blow to global tourism, perhaps no other sector in the industry has faced as much uncertainty and challenge as the cruise industry — keeping in limbo its primary and most profitable market, the Caribbean.
Seven months into the pandemic, the world’s three largest cruise lines — Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Lines — have yet to sail. In a third extension of the No Sail Order, which applies to ships carrying over 250 passengers and cruising in American waters, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control cited “recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas,” as well as in Alaska on smaller 60-passenger ships, as evidence that this type of travel “continues to transmit and amplify” the spread of Covid in spite of cruise ships’ extensive increased health protocols and reduced capacities.
Where does this leave the Caribbean region, and how are island destinations repositioning their industries for a more resilient futu
