Heading to Sea: How the Ritz-Carlton and Four Season’s Entry to Sea Travel can Revolutionize Cruising Sustainability
Major luxury hospitality groups are racing to launch their cruise lines onto the water. With fleets boasting cutting-edge sustainability technology, how could their entrance set new environmental standards for the entire industry?
The cruise industry – one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic – was forced to evolve. The latest revitalization of this industry was the introduction of luxury cruises. Geared towards the affluent traveler, seeking a unique experience asea, two major players in the luxury hotel industry, The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, have entered the luxury cruise market introducing their own ships. Through their incorporation of state-of-the-art sustainability features, major hotel entrants challenge and raise the standards of cruiseline practices.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing widespread cancellations and disruptions to cruise operations, the sea-travel industry has grown significantly in recent years. In 2019, the cruise industry garnered $27.4bn in revenue, a figure that dropped to $3.3bn in 2020. This year, revenue is expected to hit $25bn, still $2.4bn short of pre-pandemic levels. Nonetheless, revenue is projected to continue to grow, surpassing $30bn by 2024. This said, the industry continues to face criticism for its environmental impact, with calls for stricter regulations on cruise ship emissions and waste management.
The luxury cruising market has skyrocketed in recent years. Notably, the number of high-net-worth individuals – the luxury cruising sector’s largest consumer base – increased by more than 50% over the past two years. Thus, the market is robust for upscale and high-end sea travel. In addition, the luxury cruise industry is expected to see a positive impact from countries in Asia beginning to loosen COVID-19 restrictions, which will increase demand for cruises in this region.
The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons’ luxury cruise ships will offer smaller ship sizes and visit rarer destinations, allowing for a more intimate and unique customer experience with fewer guests on board. However, the growing popularity of luxury cruises comes with concerns of environmental sustainability. Cruising is a major source of air, water, and wildlife pollution. It is estimated that staying one night on a cruise expends energy equivalent to twelve times that of land-based accommodations. With the highest space ratios for their room offerings asea due to the small number of passengers on board, the energy expended on amenities and travel would be much higher per capita than their non-luxury counterparts.
To counter this, the Ritz-Carlton‘s new fleets boast four dual-fuel engines that use liquefied natural gas as their main energy source. This practice produces 25% fewer carbon emissions than diesel, the traditional fuel for cruise ships. The yachts will also feature BIO-SEA ballast water treatment systems from the BIO-UV group to defend habitats and ecosystems from non-indigenous organisms. This can reduce the number of invasive species known to travel by clinging to the ship's body or through the ship’s ballast water which can have detrimental impacts on oceanic and freshwater ecosystems.
The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons’ sustainability practices have the potential to change the status quo for the cruise line industry, with awareness being spread by such well-known and respected brands. The entry of luxury names leads to increased competition and pressure onto other cruise lines to improve their sustainability practices.