Economic consequences of the COVID'19 pandemic for functioning of the cruise shipping industry in the Baltic Sea Region

Abstract

Cruise line owners and insurance companies failed to predict the emergence of a global pandemic that would exclude the entire global cruise fleet from operation for several months. Cruise line owners, the related service suppliers, as well as employees of shipping corporations and, finally, the passengers themselves suffered huge losses. Unfortunately, the cruise line exclusion from the market for more than a year led to a significant drop in demand for sea voyages and, in some cases, the withdrawal of some routes from the cruise timetable or the route change. Even though all cruise line operators introduced appropriate sanitary restrictions, protocols and restrictions to protect against the risk of coronavirus infection in accordance with the recommendations of international institutions, and despite large-scale information campaigns, a significant part of potential passengers still hesitate to travel by sea. This article aims to identify the economic effects that affected the cruising market as a result of the decline in demand for sea voyages in the Baltic Sea Region. The studies involved a few qualitative analysis methods, i.e. secondary data mining, desk research and comparative analysis, as well as critical analysis and deduction. The research process consisted of eight stages according to a model developed by Bell et al. [6]. The results of research may provide interesting cognitive material for seaport authorities and cruise operators useful in planning their activities, to compensate for losses related to the potential threats that may arise in the future. It also identifies several solutions for policy makers to guarantee financial security and insurance cover for businesses and society in the event of other pandemic.