Seychelles ban all cruise ships for 2 years

[Reef Knot]

As reported by the Seychelles news agency, they have banned all cruise ships from visiting the island for 2 years. Although the ban is actually "only" until the end of 2021 meaning 18 months in total.

Obviously this doesn't bode well a cruise industry trying to find a way forward.

 

Seychelles' two-year ban on cruise ships understood even by businesses that will suffer financially (Seychelles News Agency) (14 May 2020)

A two-year ban on cruise ships by the government of Seychelles has been welcomed even by sectors of society in the island nation that depend on the arrival of tourists for their livelihood, though some businesses say the decision will lead to tough economic times. The ministry for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine said the ban is part of measures to prevent and minimise the impact of another outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. When announcing the measures last week, Minister Didier Dogley said the ban takes effect immediately and will last until the end of 2021. According to Dogley, the measure is in line with the World Tourism Organisation which is the United Nations’ specialised agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. “The Seychelles Ports Authority appreciates the fact that the government has made a prudent decision to mitigate the impact that COVID-19 may have in the medium term. It is to be noted that the cruise industry has been a major catalyst by which the COVID-19 has spread throughout the world,” the chief executive of the authority told SNA on Thursday.

 

Ronny Brutus added that the decision will impact the revenue streams of the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA), “but it is important to recognize the fact that the risk factor of a resurgence of the COVID-19 in Seychelles far outweighs the opportunity cost of not having cruise port calls for the next two years.” Brutus said that port Victoria remains the only gateway to the economy and government cannot afford to compromise this strategic point of transit for trade and commerce which connects Seychelles' maritime industry to the rest of the world.

 

The chief executive added that “port Victoria has won multiple accolades as the Best Cruise Port of the Indian Ocean and currently holds this title.” “In the context of cruise port calls, the global outlook for the industry indicates the cruise sector will have to endure a very slow recovery trajectory which highly depends on a reliable and effective means to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. It is with optimism that the Seychelles Ports Authority looks beyond the two-year restriction, towards brighter and safer cruise seasons whereby all stakeholders associated with this interesting aspect of the tourism industry can bounce back stronger and more resilient,” concluded Brutus.

 

Minister Dogley explained that since the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain its diffusion are taking a heavy toll on the tourism sector, the government has taken several measures, including financial, to ensure that tourism-related businesses can survive and stay afloat during the COVID-19 difficulties until the tourism industry picks up. But what implications does this ban mean for other businesses in Seychelles - 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean? The chief executive of the National Botanical Gardens Foundations said the decision is understandable. Raymond Brioche told SNA that the gardens – which sees many visitors during cruise ship season – will need to find alternatives to generate revenue. Brioche added that the foundation will need to be innovative and create other activities.

[Flamin_June]

Hmmmm.... that will put a spanner in the works for one of Sojourn's 2021 World Cruise segments, but as everything remains uncertain even going into next year, who knows what and where and when as far as cruising goes?

[Fletcher]

I expect a great many island groups in the South Pacific will follow suit.  A virus like this could rip through a small nation like the Seychelles or Samoa and decimate the population, much like in the missionary/colonial era when the European common cold felled 1000s of islanders. 

[galeforce9]

Well my land holiday is booked for the Seychelles at the end of august. Have already written it off mentally. 

[Covepointcruiser]

Gosh, what a loss!   It’s never been on my bucket list.   As of this Spring, I am also deleting all Asia and Far East destinations.   Can’t believe they have gone back to the Wet markets and are still eating bats.   We will stay with Western Hemisphere or European travel.

[Mauzac]

I would say Asia has handled this pandemic a hell of a lot better than Europe and the US, acting quicker, stricter self isolation and using rigorous track and trace,  their very low mortality rates prove that.    

 

When we go back to cruising , it would be my choice to go there.  

[Covepointcruiser]

Are we happy with Japan’s handling of the Diamond Princess?   Do we really know what happened in China?   If you are happy going to Asia, please do so.   Maybe you should avoid the wet market.   The virus has hit GB and the US badly because of the percentage of obese people with their health challenges in our areas.   Latest figure in the U.S. is 40% obese.   GB has a similar problem with obesity.   You rarely see an overweight person in China or Japan.

[Sunviking]

Yes, we do have a large percentage of people who are obese in the US but if you look at the statistics of fatalities in the US you will see that at least 40% were people in nursing homes or other senior living facilities. I can't speak to other senior living facilities but those in nursing homes already had many co-morbidity issues or they would not have been in nursing homes.  There have been reports already that there have been miscounts of deaths due to Covid 19.  I believe that at least one state has corrected their count down.  I don't intend to minimize those who have perished from this virus, but I believe that most statistics are subject to revision when the dust settles

[tv24]

More bad news for the cruise industry.  I think there will be other ports banning ships until there is a vaccine.

[Mauzac]

7 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

  If you are happy going to Asia, please do so.   

 

Yes, I shall.  I look at the mortality figures and the efficient or otherwise handling of this, now and in the future, and how comfortable we feel about travelling to a particular area, and will base our decisions on that.  

Edited May 17, 2020 by Mauzac

[Paulchili]

11 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Are we happy with Japan’s handling of the Diamond Princess?   Do we really know what happened in China?   If you are happy going to Asia, please do so.   Maybe you should avoid the wet market.   The virus has hit GB and the US badly because of the percentage of obese people with their health challenges in our areas.   Latest figure in the U.S. is 40% obese.   GB has a similar problem with obesity.   You rarely see an overweight person in China or Japan.

Of all the reasons why COVID hit US and GB so hard obesity is the most outrageous of reasons. Is that true for Italy & Spain too?

All you have to do is look at how S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and yes, even China handled this epidemic and you'll see why they have done so much better.

[turtlemichael]

21 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Of all the reasons why COVID hit US and GB so hard obesity is the most outrageous of reasons. Is that true for Italy & Spain too?

All you have to do is look at how S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and yes, even China handled this epidemic and you'll see why they have done so much better.

Add in Vietnam, a major Asian cruise destination. They had seen it all before with SARS, took prompt action, and consequently have had one of the best records in the world. While there is always a suspicion about information from some countries, health authorities believe they have got it right. In due course I'll be happy to travel to parts of Asia.

[frantic36]

11 hours ago, Sunviking said:

Yes, we do have a large percentage of people who are obese in the US but if you look at the statistics of fatalities in the US you will see that at least 40% were people in nursing homes or other senior living facilities. I can't speak to other senior living facilities but those in nursing homes already had many co-morbidity issues or they would not have been in nursing homes.  There have been reports already that there have been miscounts of deaths due to Covid 19.  I believe that at least one state has corrected their count down.  I don't intend to minimize those who have perished from this virus, but I believe that most statistics are subject to revision when the dust settles

 

I am sorry but this idea of miscounts doesn't work for me. People are more vulnerable because the had pre-existing conditions but they still died because Covid-19 caused their health to fail. They might have continued to live many years  with Diabetes, Coronary Artery Disease etc but the Covid-19 was the push that killed them.

[Mark56]

I think holding off for 2 years is a good idea for them. I doubt the pandemic will have burned itself out by then. A year to get a vaccine would be really fast and then they need to produce it and get people to get their shots on a worldwide basis before it will stamp it out.

[hamrag]

On 5/17/2020 at 12:58 AM, Covepointcruiser said:

.....The virus has hit GB and the US badly because of the percentage of obese people with their health challenges in our areas.   Latest figure in the U.S. is 40% obese.   GB has a similar problem with obesity.   You rarely see an overweight person in China or Japan.

That is certainly a significant factor, without doubt. However, an equally significant factor is incompetent administrations in both the US of A and GB who were in Covid-19 denial for too long before finally and belatedly locking down. Tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths occurred because of their intransigence.

[Paulchili]

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

That is certainly a significant factor, without doubt. However, an equally significant factor is incompetent administrations in both the US of A and GB who were in Covid-19 denial for too long before finally and belatedly locking down. Tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths occurred because of their intransigence.

The first patient identified as positive for COVID 19 happened on the exact same date in US as in S. Korea.

We all know the rest of the story as to how each country handled the pandemic and what the results for each of those countries is.