US president Donald Trump’s threat to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America could be the start of a confusing year for the travel industry.
The name changes will leave travel agents and tour operators all at sea as they try to figure out whether they’re sending clients on a Gulf of Mexico or a Gulf of America cruise.
The vast Gulf of Mexico is crossed by several cruise lines to reach destinations in the Caribbean and popular ports, such an Cancun, in Mexico.
Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises are the cruise lines seen most often in the Gulf of Mexico.
Worse, the name changes are not ending offshore. The president is renaming mountains and perhaps entire counties.
Among the shower of executive orders issued by Trump on his first day back in the Oval Office was one ‘Restoring Names that Honour American Greatness”.
First on the president’s hit list was an order to change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska - a popular shore visit for cruise passengers - back to Mount McKinley, previously renamed by former president, Barack Obama.
What next? Could Greenland, a country coveted by the president for its strategic importance and resources, be renamed StarsandStripesland?
Will the Pacific Ocean be renamed the Sea of America?
Might the Panama Canal, another strategic waterway eyed by the president, become the Trump Canal?
As the president told the ABC in America: “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate.”
Although he was referring to the Gulf of America.