Activists launch Global Cruise Activist Network calling for cruise industry changes

Community members will join the September 2 launch of the Global Cruise Activist Network, a worldwide group of activists who are demanding the cruise industry doesn’t return to business-as-usual as cruise ships start sailing again after the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a virtual press conference on Wednesday, September 2, port communities from around the world — including Southampton, UK; Venice, Italy; Charleston, South Carolina; Monterey, California; and Hoonah, Alaska — will talk about the ways the cruise industry impacts their communities and how they want cruise companies to change.

WHO: Port communities worldwide who are announcing the launch of the Global Cruise Activist Network

WHAT: Activists will host a virtual press conference to talk about the launch of the network, discuss the ways the cruise industry impacts their local communities, and introduce a global set of guidelines called the “Principles of Responsible Cruise Tourism” they want companies to follow before cruise ships start sailing again.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 2, at at 12 p.m. PDT / 3 p.m. EDT

WHERE: Interested reporters are invited to attend a virtual press conference on Zoom at

Zoom Meeting ID: 913 3855 1079

Zoom Meeting Password: 540586

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdTaMlbqUl to dial by your location.

For example, New York, NY, USA: +1 646 876 9923 Meeting ID: 913 3855 1079 Passcode: 540586

The virtual press conference will also be livestreamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standearth.

WHY: For decades, the cruise industry’s business practices have put the social fabric, economic integrity, public health, and environment of host communities — as well as passengers, crew, coastal and marine ecosystems, and the climate — at risk. The latest example of this — the industry’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows that the industry is unwilling to protect the public interest without legally binding regulations.

Inspired by the 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism, the Future of Tourism Coalition’s Guiding Principles, and the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, cruise communities are coming together to urge worldwide commitment to and the implementation of the Principles of Responsible Tourism.

The Global Cruise Activist Network calls on cruise companies to delay their return to operations until they address these principles. The network is calling for an equitable and responsible system of leisure travel that optimizes economic benefits to all stakeholders, while eliminating the negative social, public health, and environmental impacts of cruising on port communities.
Source: Global Cruise Activist Network