06:35:30
A Strategy To Create An Indonesian Cruise Hub
This quote was brought to my mind as I was contemplating the current chaos in the industry caused by the International Cruise Industry and the possibilities to help rebuild the Indonesian Economy in the midst of the chaos.
Based on nearly two years of experience in cruise industry management This editorial suggests that Indonesia is a strategic opportunity to be a major international cruise hub.
Indonesia is an International Cruise Hub
In our view, Indonesia is a near-perfect Indonesian island cruise location. Covering a 5,150-kilometer stretch bridging the distance between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia's geographic width is about the distance between Seatle and the Bermuda Islands. With 17508 islands of which around 60% are inhabitable, Indonesia has ports-of-call and cruise ports galore.
It's crucial to know that no one has ever been able to spend even one day on every Indonesian Island. Such an Odyssean task would require at least 48 years of effort without calculating traveling time between islands.
Unbeatable Variety of Cruise Stops
"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika", the Indonesian national motto, is a reference to the many exciting cruise stops that are available to cruising Indonesia ships. This is to encourage them to make time to discover the archipelago. The Republic's islands are where you can find complex and ancient civilizations and societies that constructed the 9th century Borobudur Temple and the megalithic Gunung Padang site in West Java dated as far back as 20,000 BCE.
Indonesia -- The Emerald Equator
It is the equatorial country of Indonesia and provides some of the most favorable cruising conditions around the globe. Located primarily within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCV) an area sailors call "the doldrums" Indonesia experiences "calm weather" throughout the whole calendar year. There are two seasons in the year: one is the "dry" that falls between May and October, while the other is the "wet", which falls between November and April. While rain can be plentiful in certain parts of Indonesia during the "wet" but it's very rare to see be raining for longer than a couple of days. This allows shore excursions to continue according to plan.
The positive news for cruisers and crew members of ships is that massive storms and typhoons typically be far from the main geographic boundaries of Indonesia. Modern cruise ships aren't affected by strong currents in the archipelagic chains' north-south Straits.
The Global Cruise Industry: Current Situation
As the pandemic in the world suddenly descended in the early month of 2020, the 272 vessels that were operating globally were particularly hard-hit. Ships were identified quickly as threatening "clusters of infection" as confirmed instances of COVID-19 were prevalent in the passengers of ships Many of them were elderly a group known to be the most at risk chance of dying from this disease.
A number of ships were forced to become five-star refugee vessels as the coronavirus virus became more widely spread. These ships were required to be like the mythical ancient "Flying Dutchman" of yore, doomed to sail the oceans for an indefinite period. Crew and passengers were frequently kept in their quarters for weeks or months, waiting for the right to embark and return to their families.
An Opportunity for Indonesia?
We think that the current upheaval in the world cruise industry holds a unique opportunity for Indonesia to seek to become an international cruise hub and become a major force to boost the nation's economy.