An overview about the impact of COVID-19 in the cruise industry and some considerations about its impact in florida

da Silva, Ana Lucia Rodrigues

This paper provides an overview of the current state of the world’s cruise industry, with focus on the chronology and the main impacts that the COVID-19 has had on industry. Florida is presented as a micro context of the impacts the pandemic has had on the local economy of a cruise-dependent region. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in many infected ships in the first quarter of 2020, the entire cruise industry was stopped and a prohibition on resuming this industry was implanted worldwide. This paper presents some of the consequences of stopping the cruise industry and the recommended protocols to respond to this pandemic situation. Due to the dramatic impacts for this entire industry, some cruise lines are trying to resume despite the fact that the COVID-19 is not yet under control. The first aim of this paper is to present the cruise industry and its importance for society; the main facts of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the correlation between cruise ships and the spread of this disease. The second aim is to present the new pattern to resume the cruise industry and its challenges.