17 March 2020 – MedCruise Association would like to show its support to all of its Port Members and Associate Members that are dealing with the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 as well as to all the cruise industry community and partners.
MedCruise Association is a great family composed of 73 Port Members (representing more than 135 ports) and 33 Associate Members from 21 different countries, some of them being unfortunately affected by the above mentioned COVID-19. MedCruise recommends to follow the preventive measures taken by World Health Organization (WHO), Governments, National Health Institutions and Centers for Diseases and Prevention.
The Cruise Industry is being affected by the situation as its regular activity is directly concerned by the preventive measures by some countries such as severe mobility measures taken within the national territories and banning flights from certain destinations. Furthermore, Cruise Lines had been forced to cancel their programs in many regions, having a direct impact on the cruise calls and cruise passengers that manage our ports and visit our destinations, after WHO announced COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 12.
"I would hereby like to express my support to all the countries and regions being affected and also to transmit a message of calm. Right now, it is time to assist your clients, support them and try to find solutions to their challenges," said Airam Díaz Pastor, President of MedCruise. "This situation will have a big economic impact on our companies as well as in our communities. However, I am pretty sure that with our work and commitment, we will get over this challenging but also temporary period. We also need to encourage our companies and societies to help in mitigating this slow down on the cruise industry. I believe this will make us even stronger and we will learn from this situation" added Díaz Pastor.
More than ever: #PortsTogether
