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The foundering of Costa Concordia, the cruise liner, off the west coast of Italy is unlikely to prompt a rethink of the industry model, predicated on filling over bigger and more luxurious vessels with ever greater numbers of passengers. However, the terrible loss of life and the chaotic evacuation of more than 4,000 passengers and crew from the ship suggest that the vaunted economies of scale of these floating mega-resorts carry significant risks. The shipwreck does not necessarily make all cruise ships more dangerous, nor will it do for the cruise business what the fatal crash of a Concorde supersonic airliner did to another branch of high-end tourism. But these tourists are easily scared. And in the short term, bookings could fall, hitting the liner operator's London-and New York-listed parent Carnival Corporation and its rivals right in the peak booking season.
“歌诗达协和号”邮轮在意大利西海岸失事，不太可能引发人们反思行业模式，即订造越来越大、越来越豪华的船舶，承运越来越多的乘客。然而，可怕的死难事例，以及船上4000多名乘客和船员的混乱逃生经历，似乎表明这种水上大型度假村受到吹捧的“规模经济”是伴随巨大风险的。此次邮轮失事并不代表所有邮轮都更危险了；它对邮轮旅游业务的影响，也不会像协和超音速客机失事那样，重创一项高端旅游业务。但游客们总是很容易受惊吓。短期内订单可能减少，令这一邮轮运营商在伦敦和纽约上市的母公司嘉年华公司，及其竞争对手，在恰逢旅游预订高峰季节的时候遭到冲击。