Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2020

2 3 1 While there are few silver linings of the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry is still trying to manage available operations until cruise business can resume. “From speaking with various industry members, I think everyone recognises that this will end,” says Tatham. “The industry is just trying to bridge this period of time as best as it can.” And the same goes for Jamaica. Cruise business accounts for around 40 per cent of the port authority’s revenue, with other divisions like cargo and logistics making up the rest. As such, the authority has suspended all cruise- related processes, such as marketing efforts and major cruise capital projects and has focused on implementing new hygiene protocols at the cruise ports. But while Tatham agrees that investments in hand sanitisers and thermometers will be necessary, he admits that there is an industry-wide reluctance to spend money when they are unsure that those investments will be well-received or even deemed necessary. “Every day we are hearing more and more about Covid-19 and what it can and can’t do,” he explains. “One day you need one thing and the next day the science has shown that it isn’t very effective. So our approach is to put in 70 per cent of what everyone else is doing and hold back on that other 30 per cent so that hopefully, as we get closer to start back, we are prepared and ready to do what is necessary.” The Port Authority of Jamaica has been able to maintain its team throughout this time, so it has been reassigning its employees to plan for the future and troubleshoot potential issues. “We are having everybody think about how we can be better – planning doesn’t cost,” says Tatham. “If you have the team there, activities like brainstorming are simply drawing on those human resources in a positive way. Then, when there is some kind of return to normality, we will have some solid ideas and plans as to the future of cruise in Jamaica.” One area of focus is to re-examine how the port authority processes passengers. “Traditionally everyone comes off the ship and you sort them into groups depending on their chosen tours and activities,” Tatham explains. “That is going to have to be done differently because we need to minimise these mass gatherings. Some of the ways this could happen is by working closely with ships and having them pre-sort these passengers, or even have the ships spend