A plan in Singapore to launch "
cruises to nowhere
" to revive the tourism sector stricken by the coronavirus crisis is under fire from critics from those who fear the emergence of new foci of the virus' spread.
To read also: Nicolas Dubreuil: "Cruises, in the future, will have to be more committed"
The office in charge of tourism in the city-state, one of the main ports in Asia, is discussing with several cruise operators with the aim of offering cruises under high health surveillance that would have Singapore as the point of departure and arrival. .
The authorities of the Southeast Asian country would put in place "
appropriate measures that will allow cruises to resume in a secure manner
," Annie Chang, head of the cruise sector at the tourism office, told AFP.
She did not specify when these cruises could begin.
Many cruise lines around the world have had to shut down their fleets following travel restrictions and numerous cases of infections on board ships at the start of the pandemic.
Marcie Keever, an official of the NGO Les Amis de la Terre in charge of oceans and ships, warned against "
the possibility of seeing outbreaks of Covid-19 contamination appear
" on liners.
"
The cruise sector has been a major source of the spread of Covid-19 in several ports around the world,
" she said.
The activist also pointed out the negative impact on the environment that a restart of cruises would have.
Last week, Singapore Airlines said it was giving up an offer of “
flights to nowhere
” after strong protests against the impact on the climate of this project which was intended to bail out its finances.
Several cruise lines around the world, such as Britain's P&O and Norwegian Hurtigruten, have canceled all their cruises for now.
Read also: How a dream cruise turned into a nightmare aboard the
Costa Magica
, epidemic hotbed under the Caribbean sun
The island of Singapore has detected in recent months several sources of contamination of the virus in dormitories where migrant workers are accommodated.
But these outbreaks have been largely brought under control and the country has limited the number of cases of contamination to below 58,000 and the number of deaths from the virus to 27, thanks to a very strict policy of quarantine and tracing of all potential cases.
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