Biz New Orleans
Hard Hit But Hopeful
Port of New Orleans CEO Brandy Christian shares her thoughts on the cruising shutdown and where New Orleans will stand when it’s over.
04/30/2021
Brandy Christian, president and CEO of Port NOLA
When the pandemic forced a shutdown of America’s ocean-going cruise industry, New Orleans lost an important component of its tourism economy.
Since mid-March 2020, the Port of New Orleans has lost 338 individual “ship calls” that would have carried an estimated 1.5 million cruise passengers. It missed out on approximately $21 million in revenue from per-person cruise fees and parking fees. And the Greater New Orleans economy has forfeited $250 million in overall economic impact.
Are cruise ships safe?
Before sailing, ships have to meet the CDC s COVID health and safety requirements, but that doesn t mean boarding a cruise ship is without risk. Cruising during a global pandemic is difficult, Caitlin Shockey, spokesperson for the CDC, told USA TODAY. While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, CDC is committed to ensuring that cruise ship passenger operations are conducted in a way that protects crew members, passengers and port personnel, particularly with emerging COVID-19 variants of concern.
Bari Golin-Blaugrund, vice president of strategic communications for Cruise Lines International Association, the industry s leading trade organization, said that cruising is now a safer option than
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