Latest MSI analysis finds cruise operators still searching for reset
A restart to full operations can’t come soon enough for cruise lines, whose financial position has become increasingly precarious given high debt levels incurred from fleet expansions and the fundraising required to survive the current crisis.
The latest cruise market report from Maritime Strategies International* finds that net revenue losses for the ‘big three’ lines (Carnival, NCLH and RCI) in 2020 and Q1 21 almost match the accumulated net revenue gains of the preceding five-year period.
The scale of the problem facing the cruise lines – and the entire tourism sector – was laid out by the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) earlier this year when it pointed out that two-thirds of the world’s destinations were still either completely (32%) or partially (34%) closed to international tourists.