Where Is The Cruise Market Of The Cruise Ship Again Under Heavy Attack?

The experience of "legendary" in North America has almost copied the plight of previous cruise ships in Southeast Asia, but even if the cruise company fled Asia, with the spread of the epidemic to the whole world, cruise companies' European and American strongholds are facing more and more severe challenges. For the cruise industry, it is necessary to find a practical way to get rid of the negative effects as soon as possible.

Following the "Diamond Princess" and "weisit Dan" cruise ships, these days, the large international luxury liner was refused to turn ashore again.

Out of concern about the spread of the new coronavirus, the MSC Mediterranean cruise's "legendary" super large cruise liner has been refused to be docked by three ports in Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Mexico, due to the symptoms of fever and cough of its crew and passengers. Later, under the intervention of the president of Mexico, the port of C Zumer, Mexico, finally allowed it to dock in the early hours of February 28th. Subsequently, health officials in Mexico conducted a medical examination of the crew and passengers on board the ship, confirming that their symptoms had nothing to do with the new coronavirus, and the whole ship allowed to disembark. That night, the cruise ship left C Zumer and stopped the subsequent voyage and returned to Miami in March 1st.

The experience of "legendary" in North America has almost copied the plight of previous cruise ships in Southeast Asia, but even if the cruise company fled Asia, with the spread of the epidemic to the whole world, cruise companies' European and American strongholds are facing more and more severe challenges.

When is the cruise coming?

Following the "Diamond Princess" and "weisit Dan" cruise ships, these days, the large international luxury liner was refused to turn ashore again. - Xinhua News Agency

Panic triggering a crisis of suspension

At present, significant progress has been made in the control of new coronavirus pneumonia in China, and the epidemic situation of pneumonia has been effectively controlled. However, the spread of pneumonia in other countries continues.

In February 28th, WHO director general Tan de se announced in Geneva that the global risk level of the new crown pneumonia epidemic will be raised to "very high" from the previous "high" level.

According to the latest global epidemic data released by WHO, 87137 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia were diagnosed worldwide in Beijing at 17 hours in March 1st. Of these, 79968 were confirmed in China and 7169 were diagnosed outside China. In the past 24 hours, 1739 new confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia have been added worldwide, including 579 new cases in China and 1160 additional cases outside China. In addition, 5 new countries in Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Ireland, Monaco and Qatar have reported confirmed cases. At present, 58 countries have reported confirmed cases worldwide.

South Korea is the country with the largest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus pneumonia in addition to China. At present, more than 4000 confirmed cases have been confirmed. Italy is the second largest country in the world to diagnose new coronavirus pneumonia in addition to China. Local time on March 1st at 18 o'clock (Beijing time 2 at 1 o'clock), Borrelli, head of Italy's Civil Defense Department, said in a regular epidemic notification that 1694 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia cases were diagnosed in the country, 566 cases increased compared with the previous day, 34 of them died and 83 cases were cured.

On March 1st, the Washington State Health Department said that 1 new crown pneumonia patients died in Jin county of the state, and became the second case of death due to new crown pneumonia in the United States. Up to 18 hours local time March 1st, 74 cases of new crown pneumonia confirmed in the United States, 5 cases increased compared to 24 hours ago.

UN Secretary General Guterres said that the biggest enemy at present is not the virus, but fear, rumors and stigma. Because of the panic of the epidemic, the cruise ship was refused to stop and repeatedly staged.

The rejected "legendary" cruise ship, carrying 4580 passengers and 1600 crew members, set sail from Miami, USA in February 23rd. It planned to sail for 15 days in Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Bahamas, Belize and Honduras and return to Miami in March 8th. After being rejected for a long time, the legend can only return to Hong Kong ahead of schedule. Due to the abnormal route change, the MSC Mediterranean cruises announced the full refund of the ticket cost to the 4580 passengers on the Mediterranean legend cruise.

MSC Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of the Mediterranean cruise, complains that Jamaica and the Cayman Islands refuse to allow cruise ships to turn ashore and refuse passengers to go out of the boat only because of fear rather than medical practice. "This gives our passengers and crew a lot of unnecessary and unwarranted worries and anxieties for the entire tourism industry in the Caribbean region, and even more far-reaching consequences."

Pierfrancesco Vago's concerns are not unreasonable. According to the statistics of the International Cruise Association (CLIA), the main source of global cruise market is concentrated in North America and Europe. In 2018, the number of cruise passengers in North America reached 14 million 200 thousand passengers, accounting for about 50% of the total number of cruise passengers worldwide, ranking the largest cruise market in the world. In the North American market, the number of cruise tourists in the Caribbean area reached 11 million 300 thousand, accounting for a very high proportion.

The impact of the epidemic is like throwing a stone into the water, and the water ripple is getting bigger and bigger. At the end of January, the cruise market in China was closed, and the Asian market began to spread in February. Now it is affecting the core markets such as the Caribbean. The global cruise market is facing unprecedented challenges.

According to the twenty-first Century economic report, the executives of the cruise industry and the International Cruise Association attended the eighth special emergency meeting held by the heads of government of the Caribbean Community and the Minister of health in March 1st. It is reported that the conference agreed to set up an enlarged government head agency to continue discussions with the tourism industry and regional financial institutions, with a view to mobilizing resources to enhance the response of the Caribbean community. Epidemic capacity.

Medical recovery is needed for market recovery

The reaction of capital market always comes first.

Since the outbreak of the new crown, the two cruise companies, Royal Caribbean cruise and carnival cruise ship, have been in a mess in the capital market.

From January 23rd to February 20th, the price of carnival cruise liner fell from $49.11 to $42.19, down 14.1%. From February 20th to February 28th, stock prices dropped to 31.06 yuan, down by 26.4%. The Royal Caribbean Cruises dropped from $129.11 in January 23rd to $109.42 in February 20th, down by 15.3%. From February 20th to February 28th, stock prices dropped to 73.48 US dollars, down 32.8%.

Xie Xie, a researcher at the transportation and Transportation Research Institute of the Ministry of transport, pointed out that the share price of cruise companies is more severe than that of the US stock market, indicating that the capital market is more worried about the cruise market. He believes that if the new crown virus epidemic is spreading further within the world in the coming period, the cruise market will not be confined to China but may expand to the whole world. "The cruise industry is more sensitive to the new crown epidemic, which has a negative impact on investors."

Therefore, for the cruise industry, we must get rid of the negative effects as soon as possible and find a practical way. At present, the cruise company's action is to block tourists from sensitive areas. For example, the CLIA February 28th notice will prohibit all tourists and crew visiting Korea in 14 days before embarkation. The association also banned suspected cases of new crown virus and travellers and crew members who were exposed to the disease within 14 days. Some cruise companies even refused visitors from Italy.

These measures do not really soothe people's worries. Because today, the United States, Britain and many other places are unable to determine the source of cases, indicating that these countries have the potential risk of virus spread. How to avoid the same tragedy of "Diamond Princess" if passengers on the cruise ship have symptoms of new crown pneumonia?

According to Japanese media reports, Japan is considering introducing a hospital ship capable of emergency treatment at sea to cope with large-scale disasters or infectious diseases that may occur in the future. "If you use a hospital ship, the tragedy of the Diamond Princess may be avoided." Peng Xianwei, a partner and lawyer of Beijing Office of de Heng law firm, thinks that taking into account the personnel on the cruise ship may cause infection. It is probably a better plan to isolate the patient from the sea by using a fully equipped hospital ship. In 2010, the Naval Medical Research Institute of China issued the national military standard "GJB 6965-2010 civilian ship plus converted into hospital ship technical requirement container ship". The epidemic may allow the coastal governments to consider using hospital ships to solve large-scale infectious diseases. At the same time, if private shipyards and shipowners increase their investment in hospital ships, this will play a positive role in ensuring the safety of cruise personnel and promoting the development of cruise industry.

Xu Juehui, managing director of Shanghai Port International Passenger Terminal Development Co., Ltd., appealed to summarize the experience of the epidemic, formulate an emergency disposal plan to prevent and control the respiratory diseases of the cruise ship, and strengthen the construction of the health inspection support capability at the cruise port. In the future, a professional infrared temperature measuring device should be set up at the cruise terminal, and an isolation observation room should be set up on the wharf to prepare protective materials for investigation of highly suspected cases. At the same time, the entire cruise industry, including terminals, cruise companies and other practitioners, should regularly participate in training organized by the CDC for prevention and control and investigation. Customs should be staffed with appropriate medical background or qualified personnel through professional training.

The capacity of cruise companies should also be improved. Xu Juehui believes that the current disease control support is not in place. Although there are regulations, the actual situation is that only 4000 of the cruise ships are loaded with doctors and nurses. Most of these doctors are simple general practitioners and have no professional experience in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Xu Juehui believes that in the future, a cruise ship operating in the Chinese port should be required, and medical personnel should be provided according to the relevant regulations.

"The ship must improve the health declaration of passengers on board, and this data is best able to share data with customs at the port." Xu Juehui said that in future ship lifesaving exercises, the ship should enhance publicity on infectious diseases prevention and treatment for tourists, and encourage them to have timely medical treatment if they have such diseases or suspected diseases on the way. At the same time, the ship can provide better isolation conditions, and equipped with special medical masks and free disinfectant in the cabin to prevent and control the virus.

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