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Posted: 5:29 PM Jan 31, 2012
Carnival says its bookings are down in wake of Italian accident
Carnival isn't revealing just how much of a decline it has seen. But it says in the 12 days after the Concordia accident, bookings were down by a percentage "in the mid-teens" from last year.
Reporter: The Associated Press |
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Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ever since the wreck of an Italian cruise ship, travel agents have been watching to see if cruise passengers would be scared away.
And now they have new reason to be nervous. Bookings are down significantly for the Miami-based cruise line Carnival, which owns the Costa Concordia, the ship involved in the accident in Italy.
Agents will now be awaiting the earnings report later this week from Royal Caribbean. They want to see if passengers are simply switching from Carnival to other lines -- or are deciding not to cruise at all.
Carnival isn't revealing just how much of a decline it has seen. But it says in the 12 days after the Concordia accident, bookings were down by a percentage "in the mid-teens" from last year. Still, the company says in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it doesn't think the accident will have a "significant long-term impact" on its business.
Europeans, who have seen daily reports of the accident, have been particularly skittish. They accounted for about 38 percent of Carnival's revenues last year.
One industry analyst notes that there have been some big discounts on seven-day cruises out of Rome.
(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)
