Agents Say Refugee Crisis Having Little Impact on Cruises
by Barbara Peterson /Is Europe’s ongoing refugee crisis hurting tourism to the region in general, and the cruise business in particular?
It depends on whom you ask. But the agents with whom TMR has spoken say they have seen little fallout.
Cruise ship lines serving the Mediterranean have raised concerns about the impact on their business, with some companies changing itineraries to avoid ports like Mytilene, on the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of refugees from Syria have arrived in recent months.
Then last week Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said research suggests a possible psychological effect on consumer choice.
Ocean travel is particularly at risk, Donald said in an interview with BloombergBusiness, as cruise ships, like all vessels, are obligated to help people stranded at sea. On two occasions this year, Carnival ships paused to pick up refugees during Mediterranean cruises.
But Carnival spokesman Roger Frizzell later clarified that Donald’s comments were general in nature, and that the company “did not have any specific issues tied to our brands.”
“In this region, we are performing well,” he said.
Travel agents say business holds strong
Travel agencies specializing in the region said the worries have yet to translate into any tangible pattern of booking away from the region. Agents contacted by TMR said they have seen no impact on this side of their business.
“I honestly haven’t heard anything,” said Chuck Flagg of the Flagg Agency, in Canton, GA. “I am still selling European cruises, so nothing has changed. I certainly haven’t heard anything new that could change that. People are still interested in going on European cruises.”
Cruise lines also have the flexibility to mitigate the impact by switching ports; two operators, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania, have replaced scheduled calls at Lesbos with Kavala, also in Greece. Istanbul has also been dropped from some other lines’ itineraries, in response to the growing tensions in the region.
Marlys Aballi, of Connection to Cruise, in Redlands, CA, agreed that she hasn’t seen any effect on business. “I’m aware of it, and we may have had a few questions about it from clients,” but nothing more specific.
“I haven’t heard of any pushback,” said Rick Ardis, of Ardis Travel, in East Rutherford, NJ.
He noted that while some countries like Hungary have had their share of news coverage connected to the crisis, it doesn’t seem to be discouraging clients.
“I actually have some customers who just went to Budapest to go on a river cruise,” he said. “Everything was perfectly fine. In fact, no one who has booked (a European trip) has come back to me to say they have issues with going.”
Still, Ardis said he’s worried that “some people are fanning the flames” on Facebook and other social media.
“I know people don’t want to see bad things on their vacation,” he said. “That’s sort of like saying you don’t want to go to a Third World country because you will see poor people. To that I always say, ‘If you are going there, you are helping the economy.’ ”
Pocketbook issues are more of a concern, he said. “If my Europe business is off at all, it’s because of the rising air fares. “
How’s your Europe cruise business doing? Post a comment here or e-mail us at editor@travelmarketreport.com, on or off the record.