[01:14.36]For my presentation today I'm going to talk about some of the issues facing the cruise ship industry and then some ways these can be addressed.
[01:24.32]The cruise ship industry has partly been responsible for the effects of overtourism in recent decades.
[01:31.43]Overtourism occurs in places where excessive numbers of tourists cause significant problems.
[01:38.39]Pollution, for example, is among the greatest threats to many popular tourist destinations.
[01:44.64]Of course, for many places it's a difficult balance to achieve.
[01:49.43]They want to promote their city or island as a desirable tourist destination, but at the same time, are unable to cope with thousands of cruise ship passengers on a daily basis.
[02:01.41]The trouble is, excessive tourism is destroying the beauty spots and places of interest that people come to visit.<
[02:09.38]Several cities, such as Barcelona, have responded by imposing a tax which all visitors to the city from cruise ships have to pay.<
[02:19.13]But as it's only a couple of euros, many green campaigners think it won't deter enough people to make any difference.<
[02:27.50]Bruges is another city which became impossible to navigate at times because of the huge numbers of cruise passengers arriving on day trips from the port of Zeebrugge.<
[02:38.97]The city was becoming like a 'theme park', with shops only catering for tourists, selling chocolate, which Belgium is famous for, and other souvenirs.<
[02:49.44]The local council took action to limit cruise passengers to a more manageable level.<
[02:56.14]Dubrovnik had to limit the numbers of cruise ships after it became extremely popular as a cruise ship destination when it featured in a hugely successful TV series.<
[03:07.47]What it does now is control the timing of all cruise ship entries to the city's port.<
[03:13.39]However, many people feel this measure does not go far enough.<
[03:22.33]Cruise ships may be unpopular in some of their destinations but they also have an image problem.<
[03:28.78]They've always been perceived as a safe holiday for the elderly, with not much on offer for families or young couples.<
[03:36.68]A recent survey showed that cost is also a major factor in putting younger groups off going on a cruise.<
[03:44.64]But what they don't realise is that compared to other types of package holidays, cruises can actually be good value, as all activities and drinks are often included.<
[03:56.37]And another perception is that cruises have lots of rules about what to wear and how to behave.<
[04:02.83]But these days, most cruises are no longer very formal and behind the times.<
[04:09.23]So what solutions are there for cruise lines to overcome some of these problems?<
[04:14.34]How can they appeal to younger customers?<
[04:17.16]Well one selling point is that cruise ships are becoming more sustainable.<
[04:23.14]New ships are built with hybrid engines with large batteries which means ships do not have to keep their engines running while docked.<
[04:32.30]Cruise lines are also designing ships specially for those in the age range of 21 to 45.<
[04:40.01]The décor in these feels contemporary and there are a range of activities on board that you wouldn't find on a more traditional cruise.<
[04:48.65]There's even a boxing ring on one ship, and most offer diving expeditions.<
[04:53.77]But there's also a huge focus on well-being with a variety of sessions of different kinds.<
[05:01.42]Food is always a very important part of any cruise and cruise ships have had to radically update their menus to suit the tastes of their younger customers.<
[05:11.39]Vegan dishes are standard, for example.<
[05:14.37]The restaurants on board have also gone paperless with menus available on screen.<
[05:21.95]Unlike older generations who went on cruises largely to get away from everything, younger people expect to be able to keep in touch with friends and family.<
[05:31.97]Many people going on longer cruises also spend time working, so companies have to guarantee wifi that can be relied upon at all times.<
[05:42.21]My grandparents used to love looking through cruise brochures, even when they weren't planning on going on a cruise.<
[05:49.02]Until very recently TV ads for cruises always felt dated and aimed at retirees.<
[05:55.82]Cruise lines have been slow to adopt the power of social media but that's all changing.<
[06:02.18]Leading cruise lines now employ top agencies to produce first rate videos for social media channels.<
[06:10.20]It will be interesting to see whether...
