60 day suspension could cost 3,000 UK jobs, says Clia

The cruise industry generates £10 billion for the UK economy, according to new data released by Clia.

“The cruise industry generates £10 billion for the UK economy each year. We understand the significant impact, therefore, that our decision to suspend operations has on the livelihoods of people who work in our sector, and on businesses that rely on the cruise industry in all parts of the country. Unfortunately, our research shows that for a 60-day suspension we can anticipate a loss of more than 3000 UK jobs and an economic cost of £539 million to the UK,” said Andy Harmer, director, CLIA UK and Ireland.

The research also showed that:

• A fifth of the 435,000 people employed in businesses supported by the cruise industry across Europe are based in the UK.  This includes cruise line employees, supply chain workers and travel agents. In the UK, the industry supports 40,517 direct jobs paying £1.35 billion in wages, and 88,519 total jobs paying £3.05 billion in wages.
• For every 1 per cent drop in cruising in the UK, up to 530 jobs can be lost. Each day of the suspension results in the loss of 55 direct jobs and 139 total jobs in the UK. 

Clia anticipates that a 60-day suspension would result in a direct economic loss of £539 million, 3,350 jobs and £714 million in wages. In total that would mean a loss of £1.43 billion, 8,359 jobs, and £454 million in wages. 

A 90-day suspension, would result in a direct economic loss of £888 million, 5,525 jobs, and £287million in wages. In total that would mean an economic loss of £2.37 billion, 13,788 jobs, and £746 million in wages.

“Choosing to suspend operations was the right thing to do, and we know the cruise industry is resilient,” Harmer added. “We have put public health at the heart of our response, and we will continue to respect the guidance from international and national health authorities. We are using this time to enhance further our protocols that we will all benefit from, and we look forward to playing our part in the recovery, when the time comes for society to travel once more.”