Chef Luke Mangan, whose named restaurants are a feature on P&O Cruises Australia ships, pictured with President P&O Cruises Australia Sture Myrmell has today joined the cruise industry’s call for a pathway for the careful resumption of cruising in Australia.Speaking in a video CLICK HERE to view, Mangan said that post-pandemic all sectors and organisations that could make an economic contribution would be needed in an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to national recovery.
He said an industry such as cruising that pre-pandemic contributed more than $5 billion annually to economic activity and supported more than 18,000 direct and indirect jobs should not be overlooked, adding in the video, “We’ve never needed that sort of contribution more than now”.
He said, “Especially the people feeling the repercussions of the suspension of cruising — farmers, travel agents, regional destinations, tour operators, hotels, restaurants, transport operators, live entertainers, musicians and retail outlets”, adding, They’re doing it really tough.”
Mr Mangan said this was happening in the absence of any certainty as to when cruising would resume and in an environment where no sector had been hit harder by the pandemic’s impact than tourism and travel.
It was high time for relevant authorities to offer certainty by agreeing to a pathway for cruising’s restart knowing that the industry had put in the work to safely resume operations beginning with domestic itineraries, with Mangan adding, “So many of you (cruise guests) are ready and willing to cruise again”, adding, “Destinations want to see the big white ships again,” and “And the cruise lines are just as ready and willing to do their bit…Australia has set some pretty big targets for tourism to achieve by 2030, that makes identifying a pathway all the more important.”
CLICK HERE to access the Luke Mangan video.
A report by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor.
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