Miami’s cruise industry will need our help to survive and thrive again | Opinion
Detroit is the “Motor City.” Los Angeles is the home of Hollywood and Northern California claims Silicon Valley.
What industry can Miami rightfully claim as its own homegrown, internationally recognized powerhouse? Miami clearly is the “Cruise Capital of the World.”
But the industry that has provided Florida alone with more than 154,646 jobs, $7.7 billion in wages and more than $8.5 billion in direct spending is struggling for survival as it deals with the existential threat of the coronavirus. From its humble entrepreneurial beginnings with visionaries such as Ted Arison, Ed Stephan and Knut Kloster to the amazing industry and community builders such as Richard Fain, Frank Del Rio, Bob Dickinson and others, the cruise industry has brought great economic opportunities to thousands of families in Florida and small and large businesses, as well as to charities and foundations that have helped to make Miami a caring 21st century community.
Through the success of Carnival Corporation, the Arison family brought us the New World Symphony, the National Young Arts Society, major donations to countless local charities including Big Brothers Big Sisters and Camillus House. The Arisons also brought us the national-championship-winning Miami Heat, which has made us all proud.
Fain and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ushered in a corporate culture of giving back to our community with unparalleled support of the United Way, World Wildlife Foundation, Florida International University and Best Buddies.
Has the cruise industry done everything right? Of course not. Should cruise deployments have been canceled sooner? Yes, for sure. But as the final passengers and crew members are being disembarked and ships are being laid up in hopes of better days ahead, we, as Miamians must look to our collective future and realize that this great industry must be encouraged to survive and prosper not just for its sake, but for the sake of everyone who relies on the countless economic tentacles of this native business.
From PortMiami, Miami-Dade County’s largest economic generator and the hotels that rely on cruise passengers for pre- and post-cruise stays, to the hundreds of suppliers, vendors, to the thousands of employees affected, including stevedores, bus drivers, shopkeepers and countless other cruise related affiliates, we must be cheerleaders to a unique Miami industry that has probably played a major part in all our lives.
The cruise industry has always been able to withstand many challenging conditions. Whether it was 9/11 or the Great Recession, this unique Miami creation will rise to the occasion.
The coronavirus can be contracted while flying in a contained commercial airliner, staying at a hotel or while shopping at a mall. There is nothing unique that makes a cruise industry guest more or less susceptible to this horrible disease. But with more than 30 million people cruising last year, the industry is aggressively working toward greater medical standards and protocols to ensure the safety and well being of their guests and crew for its inevitable comeback.
I can’t imagine driving across the MacArthur Causeway and not seeing those gorgeous “memory makers” that have defined our city’s landscape both visually and economically for so many years. Yes, we are all in this together, and when it comes to this special industry, let’s all cheer it on, for its future will truly effect all of us, together, in Miami.
Philip Levine, former mayor of Miami Beach, is president and CEO of Royal Media Partners, a concessionaire to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 5:10 PM.