Bobbing on a –Blue Water— Sea; Mum No longer
Solar Cruise Ships
Are those pleasure cruises about to be sunk by guilt trips? Has the agenda of environmentalists been pirated by consumer preference? Has Greenpeace`s flagship Rainbow Warrior been outflanked and hoodwinked by hoards of average citizens?
By R. T. Eady, President and Founder, Quest Educational Foundation
Just as conference and meeting organizers perched at the top of an industry where tourist money is the tide lifting all boats, so it is no surprise that the Marine Hotel Industry and the many cruise line associations like the recently consolidated Cruise Lines International Association and International Council of Cruise Lines (now known as CLIA) and Florida Caribbean Cruise Association rarely make public statements about carbon emissions or melting glaciers. Talk of climate change doesn't draw leisure travelers waving from banisters of departing cruise ships. And, noise like that may actually chase away some even bigger fish.
High Tides and an Even Keel
Vast numbers for an industry that imagines on a super-sized scale: latest ships being ordered carry 6,400 passengers, with a gross tonnage of 200,000 tons. Yet one particular element of the Cruise industry has a gale in its sails (even without a masthead): the corporate meeting segment. Corporate meetings and the incentive cruise component have outpaced the tourist dollar (in relative terms); making it the fastest growing passenger segment. In the short term a business that was valued in 2004 at $84 million is projected to grow to $200 million by the end of 2010.It`s the perfect fit for corporate planners. The overwhelming majority of cruises work on an all-inclusive basis which keeps cost accounting simple. Most ships now offer all the bundled efficiencies: meeting rooms, business centers, in-cabin Internet, email, fax and satellite communications facilities.
A Blend of EcoTourism with a New Boomer View (L.O.H.A.S.)
And, the inevitable economic secret ingredient tossed into any market mix these days: cruises are a favorite for the baby boomer cohort. With –carbon neutral— seeping into popular culture and declared –2006 Word of the Year— by New Oxford Dictionary, it won`t be long before the folks that still read the spoken word and travel the seven seas for business and pleasure fully embrace this concept. After all, Boomers invented Eco-tourism in the 90`s. The idea being –responsible travel to natural areas can conserve the environment and sustain the well-being of the local people.— Moreover, eco-travel certainly demonstrated the potential for generating income, while creating incentives for conservation.In the last half of this decade, this sentiment has evolved into a vacationing consumer interest in what marketers call L.O.H.A.S. (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability).Whether this is a marketer`s concoction or not, approximately 30% of adults in the US, or 50 million people, say they look for goods and services focused on health, the environment, personal development and sustainable living. In fact, whether they are conference goers or not, health and physical activity pursuit consistently ranks in the top five reasons people cite to go on a cruise. Many cruise industry representatives list healthy foods and customer concern for wellness atop their list of priorities. These issues are also starting to translate into an undercurrent--that for corporate planners has become a serious consideration.
Eddies in the Current; Swaying Seas in the Chef`s Galley
As turbulence can effect water flow and generate resistance, the issue of Green House Gas (GHG) emission makes corporate conference planners work that much harder to arrange meeting logistics. While cruises are convenient, cruise industry officials have been late to the repast. Other travel-related, business industries have set up a veritable buffet of –carbon neutralizing— gambits to tempt the conscious consumer and conference planner palate. For instance, a massive number of resources are available for a planning approach to conferences, meetings and events that uses the importance of offsetting GHG emissions as the entering argument for each and every event. Lest this appear an idealist view from a fringe element, in 2007 the CESHI (Center for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry) reports that 80% of hospitality service providers (amounting to nearly $40 billion a year) have implemented measures or received customer requests to arrange environmentally responsible meeting activities. Number one request: carbon offset procedures. There`s no better time for the cruise industry to sample gourmet –climate change dining— at the carbon offset table on their own terms.
Plying a Collision Course?
Not necessarily. Environmental groups such as Oceana and Friends of the Earth--Blue Water Network have worked with Congress in the past to produce legislation such as the Clean Cruise Ship Act. In addition, the Pew Ocean Commission, the US Commission on Ocean Policy and the EPA continue to research the issue of environmentally responsible cruising. In fact, the EPA`s Office of Water, Assistant Administrator, Benjamin Grumbles has announced they will release their Cruise Ship Assessment Report in 2008. However voluntary practices within the industry itself and persuasion from informed and concerned passengers - may produce a more meaningful –list— in the responsive direction.
Good Wave Riders Stay Ahead of the Curve
Exactly. Ever see those dolphins –drafting— off the bow of the ship? Another reason the marine hotel and cruise lines industry may be in the perfect position to take a progressive stance on these issues. A democratic congress is teeing off on the general public mood for environmental policy change. Following swiftly on the heels of feckless attempts to address the war in Iraq, top 2008 presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have made climate change a signature issue. Numbers argue that consumers have shifted this beyond a curiosity, niche sort of preference. Corporate America has taken notice. Climate change, carbon management policy and commitments to collaborative partnerships that advance economic growth and the development and deployment of clean, efficient energy technologies have established a place in the top rungs of corporate headquarters. Heavyweight companies -- from Shell Oil to Wal-Mart -- have endorsed mandatory emissions reductions (carbon caps). Using Carbon Brokers, these organizations have started to determine impact of a business activity--expressed in terms of carbon emissions and then moved toward carbon neutrality -- by finding ways to offset or compensate for carbon emissions.
Tailoring the Cruise Experience
As meeting and conference planners have discovered, anything [and everything] can be made carbon neutral: events, products, travel, facilities and processes. At some point even cruise line companies will start to be selected by conference planners on the basis not just of services, standards and destinations, but also their commitment to a marine conservation program, carbon offset options and even careful waste management. As an example, Princess Cruise Lines has launched a program with the ports of
–We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature`s inexhaustible sources of energy-sun, wind and tide. I`d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don`t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.— Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
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