Sustainability is at the forefront of people’s minds. Bushfires, floods, the coronavirus pandemic and mountains of irrefutable evidence on global warming are giving most of us pause to reflect. For those of us in the cruising industry, we have had to ask ourselves: can cruising ever be sustainable or is it something we need to stop in order to save the planet?
Photo Credit: PNG Tourism Promotion Authority
These are valid concerns and were just a few of the questions we asked in our recent research into the impacts of cruise tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
What we found is that cruising is complex. It provides enormous benefits but also requires responsible management for positive environmental, economic and social outcomes.
So how can we balance the growing consumer demand - after all, there are currently 132 ocean cruise ships on order to 2027 - while also minimising the negatives and supercharging the positives?
Economic: Who is making money?
The arrival of a cruise ship stimulates economic activity but for cruise tourism to be truly sustainable, it needs to provide an equitable distribution of economic benefit to all segments of a destination, providing value to passengers and benefits to the local community.
This is an important point because much of the economic value from cruising may only benefit a select few. This should be an area of focus for emerging destinations to protect the growth and economic sustainability of the industry.
The main areas where communities see economic returns are in direct and indirect employment, economic benefits to government and in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) (e.g. retailers, transport providers, tour operators) through fees, taxes, bookings and sales, income to indigenous communities through the payment of entry fees to landowner sites and purchases from carvers, craftspeople, dancers, guides and cultural groups, infrastructure development, repeat visitation, new product development and new business start-ups in tourism services and activities.
Environmental: The natural world
While many cruising itineraries have a ‘nature’ focus, the potential damage to marine and shore environments caused by cruise ships cannot be overlooked. Like any transport mode cruise ships generate air, noise and water emissions, face significant liquid and solid waste management challenges, can cause anchorage damage to the seabed and the sheer amount of fuel required to move such a large vessel is considerable.
In positive news, many ships are being retrofitted to run on LPG and the use of biofuels is being explored.
Also, the focus on nature-based shore excursions means that there is a financial incentive to protect natural resources and endemic species, develop and promote sites of conservation, development of eco-tourism products like biking and hiking, and keep the local villages clean so that they are more attractive to visitors.
Fundamental to sustainable cruise tourism development is the need to protect the environment and cultural resources. At a grass roots level, local community members rely directly on natural and cultural resources of a destination for their livelihoods.
Local operators can help influence and guide the behaviours of cruise passengers, and tourism and government stakeholders can raise awareness of environmental and cultural issues to ensure a destination is preserved for future generations.
Social: Local life
Increased passenger traffic through smaller destinations can cause mayhem. Problems like local transport being diverted to cater for cruise tourists means that locals can’t get to school or work, and there are traffic jams and congestion.
There is also the potential, especially in more fragile and remote communities, that the foreign cultures of visitors will influence and change the local community in a negative way.
Lack of infrastructure like public toilets can create friction between locals and visitors, and regular influxes of cashed up tourists can encourage antisocial behaviours like begging.
On the plus side, increases in cruise tourism have also seen communities work harder to preserve local culture and heritage because there is an economic benefit attached to sharing it with tourists, and local law enforcement often improves, making the community safer for everyone.
In very remote locations, our research found that the arrival of cruise ships also heralded the arrival of medical supplies and donations from visitors that improved education for local children.
Last Words
The idea of cruise tourism divides public opinion. As the increasing size and number of cruise ships grows, so too do the potential impacts.
Over the past few years, we have seen cities restricting cruise ship visits.
As Barcelona’s Mayor, Ada Colau, says, “We do not have infinite capacity”. She has pledged to restrict the number of cruise ships to reduce pollution and overcome excess tourism in the city.
If a destination wants to develop cruise tourism, then governments and tourism organisations have a critical role to play in measuring and promoting the economic benefits to improve attitudes to cruise tourism, and have a responsibility to create business friendly environments and policy (e.g. immigration, taxes and fees) to increase cruise passenger visitation.
This all needs to be balanced with careful consideration of the social and environmental impacts.
We believe cruise tourism can be managed sustainably. The question is: will it be?
The full APEC Cruise Impact report will be released later this year. For more information about the project, click here.
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