By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Three of the world’s leading cruise companies, which already employ a combined total of 61,700 Filipinos, are keen to help develop the Philippines as a cruise ship destination, according to the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC.
At the same time, the embassy reported that Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines have disclosed plans to hire more seafarers from the Philippines as they acquire more cruise ships to support their expansion plans.
British-American owned Carnival Corp. employs the largest number of Filipinos (37,700) followed by Royal Caribbean, a cruise line brand founded in Norway (16,000) and Norwegian Cruise Lines, an American company operating cruise ships (8,000).
Senior officials of the three cruise industry leaders made this known during a recent economic diplomacy mission undertaken by the Philippine embassy in the Miami suburb of Doral in Florida where all the said companies are currently based.
At the same time, the cruise lines welcomed the proposals of the Philippine embassy for them to carry Philippine-made products such as souvenirs and furniture as well as other alternatives they could
offer their health-conscious guests such as coconut sugar and malunggay tea.
The cruise companies were also urged to consider San Miguel products as well as fresh Philippine mangoes and bananas, dried and processed fruits, seafood and beverages, all of which go through a stringent pre-qualification process.
The embassy noted that the Panama Canal expansion project, which will be completed next year, would also be advantageous to Philippine companies willing to penetrate not just the cruise ship market but also South America.
The expansion of the Panama Canal will also result in greater trade with the US and South America as it will take a shorter time for Philippine food exports to reach their destinations, the embassy pointed out./PN
