• 5 min de lectura
• 5 min de lectura
The cruise industry is moving beyond reducing negative impacts to actively improving destinations through shore excursions.
Shore excursions should leave destinations better off, not just do less harm.
Marialuisa Iaccarino, VP, shore excursions & destination experiences at MSC Cruises, said sustainable activities focus on reducing impacts, while responsible tourism aims to make the most of tourism's positive effect on a destination and its communities.
Steve Jones, COO at marine conservation charity ORCA, said the industry is in "a really exciting time" because destinations, tour operators and brands now have the chance to work together on innovations that leave places stronger than before.
Sandra Neffgen, director, shore excursions at AIDA Cruises, said responsibility goes beyond organised tours. Cruise lines also need to guide how passengers behave in a destination, whether they book an excursion or explore on their own.
On where sustainable wildlife viewing ends and harm begins, Jones said: "It's a really good question, and the line is so blurry; it's almost invisible in some cases."
Passenger expectations make the problem harder. Many have seen wildlife documentaries and expect a humpback whale to breach 50 feet from their Zodiac, he explained. He added that "responsibility starts long before the guest even gets off the ship at the port," because it depends on how cruise lines educate passengers and set their expectations.
Jones said an experience can be marketed as responsible and still cause harm: "This is a real challenge in some parts of the world, particularly where you have charismatic megafauna, so big, cuddly animals – killer whales, humpback whales, polar bears… When there is a reliable place to see them, many people will be looking at thousands of dollars' worth of holiday purely just to go and see that animal."
The problem builds up over the day. At a popular spot, boats can be unrelenting: "Even if an operator is responsible and only spends 15 or 20 minutes with a group of animals, if that's a really popular hotspot, those animals can be seen by boats all day," Jones said.
He gave the example of type B1 killer whales in Antarctica, which ships may visit several times in a single day. "We see malnutrition in those species because we don't think they're foraging as well," he said. "All day they're being watched. They're aware of this and it causes those behavioural changes.
"Even though no one individual operator is doing anything wrong, the overall management of that experience can definitely have an impact."
Jones described wildlife regulation as a "minefield," with voluntary and mandatory rules that vary widely in quality. He urged cruise lines to agree with partners how passenger expectations will be managed so operators can behave responsibly.
Neffgen said AIDA Cruises relies on local partners who work closely with destination stakeholders. The line uses certificates and inspections to make sure animals are not treated in a harmful way, and passengers are told openly that they might not spot wildlife on a tour.
Iaccarino said passengers increasingly want to connect with destinations, including talking to local people and are doing more outdoor activities.
Anja Wilde, business development manager Spain at Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, said younger travellers in particular want active tours. She also sees a move towards spending a whole excursion at one place, such as a farm, rather than visiting three or four stops. Cooking experiences, for example, now involve going to the farm, picking food with the chef and eating the dishes there. She contrasted this with tick-box sightseeing.
On what is driving the change, Iaccarino described it as a combination of business efforts and passenger demand. She pointed to passenger feedback and data as key inputs.
Jones described ORCA's partnership with MSC Cruises, in which it reviews the line's wildlife shore excursions, giving them independent validation. Passengers may not choose a tour purely because it is responsible, he added, but when two excursions are otherwise identical, responsibility can work as a "secondary purchase driver."
Speakers also stressed that visitor numbers at small venues have to be limited, because bringing hundreds of people an hour to one place is not sustainable. That means operators need to plan bus departures, visit lengths and passenger flows, and redirect passengers where needed, so that excursions stay enjoyable and responsible.
Jones said scaling is possible, but "by scaling something, you make it less special." He suggested steering passengers to alternative destinations where wildlife may also be observed sensitively and responsibly.
Another view was that cruise lines should connect with local communities and associations in each destination, and treat responsibility as a mindset that is applied consistently. Promoting wildlife protection on one page of a brochure and intrusive dolphin activities on the next confuses passengers. Excursion teams should work with marketing and communications colleagues to make sure the whole picture is consistent.
The remarks were made during the "Leave Something Behind: Responsible Shore Experiences" panel at Seatrade Cruise Med in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
