River cruising starts! What laws, rules & regulation apply?

We are starting up again the river cruising ships. Great for crew but also for local tour guides, suppliers and the big supply chain that is need to support the operation.

But what laws do we have to follow?

Well – reading all the material that is getting distributed from ebu (European Barge Union) to IG River Cruise and government and local – province rules and laws regarding river cruising I have to come to the conclusion:

Non! We don’t have rules and laws to follow!

We have a lot of guidelines. But all they say – from unions – local laws - the EU – in almost every second sentence is :

suggested

proposed

advised

highly recommended!

No real fixed guideline or laws (taking you in accountability) have been set and taking into the account the action and reaction of our politicians ( fast as a 1000 year old turtle) are soon to be expected. Every province might punish you by not following their local laws but they are changing daily!

So it is up to us – the river cruising industry – to make our guest – and more important our crew - feel safe and keep them safe. There are lot of great ideas – not even that cost extensive- and guidelines written by river companies that will guide us through this and even improve our operation. Just prepare - be ready and if you don’t have to dress up your waiter like a star trooper soldier – wrap the guest in plastic – or spray des - infecting directly on each plate - even better.

Author: Stephan Busch, Academic Director at the State University for the Humanities Moscow RGGU, Faculty of Tourism & Hospitality and the Swiss International University earned his Master Certificate in Hospitality Management from Cornell University, USA. He has a diverse experience in launching operations, business development and service training- for hotel and cruise companies in Asia, Europe, Canada and Russia.

www.itsjusthotelsservice.com, contact@itsjusthotelsservice.com