Resilience and Recovery: The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Cruise Tourism

This article examines the scientific approach of the cruising industry’s path toward recovery and resilience to the short- and long-term effects generated by the global pandemic crisis. The paper also discusses aspects pertaining to the actual state of the industry and the economic impact of the suspension of cruise operations for the past year. The methodology focuses on reviewing the industry’s response to the unprecedented events, analyzing the business strategies, and closely observing how the major cruise operators position their brands and work toward future regeneration. Considering that cruises had been, for the past two decades, the fastest-growing sector of the global travel industry, it is important to consider the consequences the crisis had on the cruise companies’ supply and value chains. The article provides a descriptive observation based on the developments within the cruising sector in terms of theory and practice underlining the counteractive measures recently adopted in order to improve the risk mitigation strategies and enhance their decision-making processes in unpredictable circumstances. Conclusions are drawn resulting from examining the impact of COVID-19 and the industry’s response to the pressure of a series of influential factors and market determinants under uncertain conditions within the current transformational global business context.