By Noel Thompson, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE WINDOW of opportunity for the cruise shipping industry to get a bigger share in the travel industry is getting better in wake of the recent tragedies which have rocked the United States.
President of the Jamaica Cruise Shipping Council Mr. Lee Bailey said that he did not believe that it was always prudent to give the impression that one is capitalising on anther's misfortune, but the situation is that it would seem that more people may gravitate towards a different mode of vacation travel.
He was speaking against the background of the downfall in the travel industry following the September 11 terrorist attack on the US, as well as the November 5 plane crash in Queens, New York.
Mr. Bailey was quick to express his sympathy to the bereaved relatives and American Airlines.
"In my view, the cruise shippers are preparing themselves to take up that slack so that people can continue to enjoy their vacation without the fear of flying if it should come down to that," he said.
But yesterday an Associated Press article from San Juan, Puerto Rico headlined 'Cruise ships now terror targets,' spoke to the fact that with attention being focused on air safety, cruise ships could be enticing targets for terrorist because they are considered prestigious and there is a perception that they carry wealthy Americans aboard. Responding to the article, Mr. Bailey expressed confidence saying that the cruise industry remains fairly safe. "It has weathered two World Wars and there were even greater dangers then. Even if the intention was there in today's era it is quite difficult to orchestrate that type of activity because the industry has always taken precautions to ensure the safety of its passengers," Mr. Bailey asserted.
The national carrier Air Jamaica stands ready again to fly in travel agents into the island, should the need arise to rekindle the travel and tourism industries in the aftermath of the US tragedies.
Senior vice-president for industrial affairs, William Rodgers said Jamaica is positioned in a very strategic location and is quite lucky to have a national carrier to aid in this recovery.
A survey done by the US-based Cruise Daily magazine showed one particular cruise line's business moving up by about 70 per cent this year when compared to the corresponding period last year, while another cruise line was up by 12 per cent.
"This, is a signal that the 'bounce-back' has already begun at a more rapid pace than had been envisaged," Mr. Bailey stated. Mr. Rodgers said the recent crash could not have come at a worst time. He reckons that it may put some level of fear in persons who have just made up their minds to start flying again, but he was hopeful that it would not have too much of a serious impact on the travel industry.
"We have seen some definite recovery over the last 30 days. Where we were down 30 per cent in September, we had recovered by 15 per cent in October. We were expecting this upward trend to have continued," he noted.
"As the national carrier, passengers may prefer to travel on Air Jamaica, as they may feel more comfortable at a time like this," Mr. Rodgers noted.
