A commentary by the chair of the Victoria Cruise Industry Alliance.
The past year has seen health-care and medical experts work relentlessly to bring the pandemic under control. Their efforts — combined with the sacrifices and diligence of Canadians in following provincial health and safety protocols — have finally allowed British Columbians to start seeing the beginnings of a return to everyday life.
As provincial health guidelines evolve, our region has steadily eased certain restrictions and reopened the economy.
The Victoria Cruise Industry Alliance is a 30-member organization of local businesses in the community. We are your pedicabs, longshoremen, transportation providers, local gift shops, entertainment and more. We are also the first point of contact for guests visiting our beautiful shores.
The alliance is no stranger to the challenges faced by the cruise and terminal industry over the past two years. Admittedly, it’s been a rough ride for all of us, but we are motivated to move forward on the restart of cruise and the opportunity to showcase our vibrant city to the world once again.
Health and safety have always been the first consideration in everything we do. As we begin to open back up, we understand people’s hesitation on the return of cruise.
Still, we are excited about the opportunity to demonstrate that we are ready to operate safely. We are confident in our industry’s ability to adjust and adhere to the protocols deemed necessary by Transport Canada and public health agencies through the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. We also continue to actively work with our partners at the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
We take great pride in being a sustainable and progressive industry committed to protecting the environment.
The pandemic has, in many ways, pushed us to rethink and re-evaluate what it means to be responsible and progressive cruise line operators.
Technology and data have allowed us to enhance our practices, such as better waste management using more advanced collection and recycling systems, heightened environmental sustainability practices, improved traffic routing and improved emission protocols.
Over the coming months, we look forward to sharing this work with our community, stakeholders and industry partners.
The return to cruise in Victoria is our chance to once again have a positive impact in our community, while continually evolving and improving.
We value and honour our members’ role in celebrating Victoria’s culture and heritage as a coastal city and serving as a vital part of the region’s economy by contributing more than $130 million to Vancouver Island annually.
Our commitment to the people of Greater Victoria will help us bring back the cruise industry in a way that supports our local businesses and family-run establishments so that we can emerge stronger as a region.
We care about ensuring your safety every step of the way. Our leadership team is working on tackling these shared values and priorities and considering not just our employees and passengers, but also residents who live near our port, in every step of our new and improved operation plans.
Although we have faced stormy waters, we are navigating our way back better and look forward to the opportunity to be at Ogden Point, our new Breakwater District, when ships return in March 2022.
