DIARIO DEL PUERTO ENTREVISTA 21 LOLI DOLZ Cruise industry players are meeting in Miami over the next few days at the sector’s flagship event. Representatives of CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), headed by Alfredo Serrano in Spain, will also be travelling to the fair. To find out more about how companies are faring, and the challenges and forecasts ahead, we spoke to CLIA’s Director in Spain. To beginwith, wewould like to know how the cruise industry is faring in Spain. It has been a long two years andwewould like to knowhow things have been going during this time andwhat the situation is today. With the exception of the Canary Islands, where domestic cruises aimed mainly at the German and British markets resumed in winter 2020 / 2021, in Spain the industry was on hold until June 2021. Since then, business has resumed in line with what was happening in other European destinations, thanks not only to the vaccination process, but also to the comprehensive, highly stringent protocols put in place by the cruise lines. If there is one thing the industry was clear about, it was that its top priority has been, is and will be the safety of its customers, crewmembers and the communities it visits. There have been no significant changes in terms of cruise lines, except for the sad disappearance of Pullmantur Cruceros. The players operating in the Spanishmarket are the same andwe are seeing how their commitment to Spain is increasing. On the one hand, these cruise lines have chosen to put some of their newest ships on itineraries that call at Spanish ports. On the other hand, they are including innovations to make them more appealing to Spanish customers. After all, we are the fourth most important outbound market in Europe, with a penetration rate that still leaves room for growth. What is the contribution of CLIA companies to the Spanish economy? According to pre-pandemic data (2019), the cruise industry had a turnover in Spain of almost €6 billion, contributing €2.8 billion to national GDP. In addition, it is estimated that 50,031 jobs werecreated thanks toour industryand that €1.5 billionwere paid inwages. Globally, we are talking about 1,166,000 jobs, which equated to $50.53 billion in wages and $154.5 billion in total output in 2019. Lookingbackto2020, Iwould like to highlight two overall figures that reflect the huge impact of the pandemic on the cruise industry’s wider community and highlight the importance of cruise tourismto economies around theworld: 576,000 jobs were created and its economic contribution amounted to US$ 63.4 billion, down 51% and 58%, respectively, compared to 2019. If I had to choose just one challenge, I would say planning, designing a roadmap in a changing environment, with great uncertainty and in such a complex, multi-faceted industry as ours
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