A Verification of Being Cruise Destination Attributes Towards Perceived Destination Quality: Application for Managing Thailand Cruise Tourism Destination

Cruise industry in Europe significantly contributes to the European tourism since many cruise ships visit various European destinations. Europe is the second most visited cruise destination, and the most significant part is the Mediterranean with its most popular ports – Dubrovnik and Venice. Even though the numbers of passengers in Dubrovnik and Venice decreased last year, they are still very attractive destinations for cruise tourists and have some advantages to which the port of Rijeka can look up. The aim of this paper is to analyse the importance of the port of Rijeka as cruise destination as well as to determine its condition and the necessary improvements. The results of the research show that the number of passengers in the port of Rijeka has been increasing over the past few years, which indicates that Rijeka is developing as a cruising destination. To determine the cruise passengers’ satisfaction with Rijeka as cruise destination, a survey was conducted among the passengers on cruise ships that visited Rijeka in 2018. The results of the survey show that the passengers were mostly satisfied with Rijeka as cruise destination although there are some aspects that need to be improved such as the offer of souvenirs and shopping in general. Cruise tourists in Rijeka mostly spent money on clothes and accessories, food and beverages, and organised sightseeing. The port of Rijeka has the potential of becoming an attractive cruise destination, but in order to improve, it constantly has to try to satisfy the cruise tourists’ demands.

Cruise tourism is an increasingly popular and profitable industry that has been experiencinggrowth rates since the 1980s that are greater than the travel industry as a whole. Despite thisgrowth, research about cruise tourism remains relatively underrepresented in the academicliterature, with limited research into the motivational factors that influence the decision to take acruise vacation. This research explores the motivational factors that influence the decisions oftourists to take a cruise vacation by using the push-pull framework. Push factors are the internalpsychological motives that drive the need or desire to travel (Crompton, 1979) while pull factorsare the specific attributes of the cruise destination (onboard and onshore) that draw tourists towardsa specific cruise line, ship, or destination. Research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach in a three-stage sequentialdesign. In the first stage of research, one-on-one interviews (20 participants) were conducted toexplore participantsr personal constructs of destination image in the context of cruise vacations.Repertory Grid Analysis and open-ended questions were used to identify the onboard and onshoreattributes that travellers use to compare and differentiate between cruise vacations. The responseswere presented from the cruise travellersr point of view, representing personally relevant criteriathat are used in the decision-making process (Coshall, 2000; Hankinson, 2004; Young, 1995).These results were then used to create a new measurement scale for cruise destination attributes thataccounts for the unique aspects of cruising and that allows researchers to separately measure theimportance of both onboard and onshore attributes.In the second stage, online surveys (344 participants) were conducted to refine the list ofattributes elicited from Stage 1 to a quantity that is suitable for inclusion in a quantitative surveyinstrument in Stage 3. The online survey also tests the ability of the instrument to determine therelative importance of onboard and onshore attributes in touristsr choice of a specific cruise.The refined cruise destination attribute scale in the Stage 3 online study (503 participants)permitted, for the first time, an effective measurement of the relative importance of onboard andonshore attributes in tourist choices of a specific cruises. The results revealed that, when decidingon a cruise vacation, the majority of travellers place greater importance on the onboard attributesthan on the onshore attributes. This supports the recent development by the cruise industry of newships that are self-contained destinations, and of marketing campaigns that position the cruise shipas the focal point of cruise vacations, with cruise destinations being of secondary importance(Weaver, 2005c; Weeden et al., 2011; Wood, 2000). Although onboard attributes were of greaterimportance overall to many participants, this was not true for all. Further analysis identified threedistinct groups: firstly, the onboard preference group (n = 251); secondly, the onshore preferencegroup (n = 65); and thirdly, a neutral preference group (n = 189). These groups represent different market segments. Furthermore, open-ended questions were used to identify which circumstanceswould increase or decrease the importance of onboard or onshore attributes in the decision-makingprocess. Combining the new measurement scale with the Leisure Motivation Scale (Ryan aGlendon, 1998) allowed for push-pull relationship to be measured for the first time in the cruisecontext.Regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis were used to explore the push-pullrelationship. They revealed several combinations of push and pull variables that may identifypotential product bundles. Understanding the push-pull relationship is beneficial becausedestination choice is influenced by the perceived link between push and pull factors (Oh, Uysal, aWeaver, 1995). Furthermore, cruise lines and destinations can use these product bundles to developmore effective target marketing strategies, as well as to develop and improve the cruise vacationexperience in order to satisfy the travel motives of cruise travellers. In addition to these marketsegments, further market segments were identified in the in the process of identifying anddifferentiating the onboard-onshore preference groups mentioned earlier.Results from these three stages of research produced a number of theoretical,methodological, and practical contributions to cruise tourism research and to the cruise industry.This study contributes to the development of a stronger theoretical base for studying cruise travelmotivation, and the cruise tourism industry as a whole, by addressing several research limitationsthat were identified in the literature; re-examining the way that destination attributes of cruisetourism are researched; and re-conceptualizing the cruise destination to incorporate both onboardand onshore components. Methodological contributions include the first successful application ofdestination image methodsmsuch as Repertory Grid Analysismto the context of cruise tourism, thedevelopment of a new cruise destination attribute scale, the application of the Leisure MotivationScale to measure travel motives in the cruise context, and an analysis of the push-pull (motivationattribute)relationship in the cruise context. Practical contributions include the identification of themost important push and pull items and factors in the decision to cruise, the determination of therelative importance of onboard and onshore attributes when deciding on a cruise vacation, and thedevelopment of potential market segments, including segmentation based on the push-pullrelationship and the creation of onboard-onshore preference groups. These contributions haveimplications for both cruise lines and cruise destinations, for marketing and developing the cruiseproduct

This study explicates the relationships between cruise participants and destination host communities to examine types of conflicts (i.e., conflicts between cruise tourists and residents, residents and local governments, and residents and their fellow residents) and resident perceptions. Survey data from local Bahamians were collected online. The results revealed that residents experiencing different degrees of conflict displayed significant differences in their responses toward cruise tourism. This research further discloses significant factors for predicting the types of conflicts that may arise within host communities. As this research provides insights into the significance of promoting mutual understanding between stakeholders on the impacts of cruise tourism, the findings provide both theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for researchers and cruise destination managers/policy makers on cruise tourism–related sustainable destination development.

Technical Innovations in Cruise Tourism and Results of Sustainability

This narrative review article contributes to the discussion on destination sustainability by focusing on cruise tourism practices. Cruise tourism is a complex industry, particularly from a destination perspective. There have been many calls for cruise tourism to become more sustainable for destinations but little consensus about what this means, or how it could be achieved. The aim of this article is to review the literature on cruise tourism destinations and to unpack the ways in which sustainability issues are framed at destination level. We have reviewed 98 peer-reviewed empirical journal articles (2015–2022). The article shows how the research literature on cruise tourism and sustainability issues has evolved over 7 years, which aspects of sustainability are considered to be most important and/or problematic and what solutions are suggested to improve the sustainability of cruise tourism. We develop three critical avenues towards sustainable cruise destinations: 1) from specific outcomes to the interconnectedness of desired practices, 2) alternatives to the growth paradigm, and 3) governing for coexistence and the commons. These critical avenues are based on the discussion of what sustainability means for cruise destinations, and translates these into pathways of future research.

Eliciting cruise destination attributes using repertory grid analysis

The purpose – to analyse the attitudes of the local population and population from the surrounding area on cruise tourism and its further development in the Dubrovnik area. Design – in the first part the paper gives an overview of the features of cruise tourism in the world, followed by the development of cruise tourism in the Mediterranean. Further, the paper analyses Dubrovnik as a cruise destination and the social impact of cruise tourism on the destination. The results of an empirical research are presented in the last chapter as well as therecommendations for further research. Methodology – A questionnaire was used as the research instrument, and the research was carried out in Dubrovnik and the suburbia in the period May – June 2011 on the purposive sample of 350 respondents. Approach – Cruise tourism, due to its positive effect on the local economy, has become a crucial factor in development strategies of the city of Dubrovnik. Due to the strong development of cruise tourism in Dubrovnik, a continuous market research and analysis is necessary in order to find better solutions of the existing and upcoming problems of this most dynamic sector of the leisure industry. Findings – Research results indicate that majority of the citizens are aware of the positive effects from cruise tourism as well as the fact that the traffic jams, created by a large number of cruisers calling the port in the same day, are the main problem the local community is currently facing. It has been ascertained that there is a difference in attitudes between the citizens on the influence of cruise tourism on the quality of life according to where they live and employment in tourism. Originality of the research – Further development of cruise tourism will depend exclusively on the dynamics of solving the existing issues, organisation of demand management and destination product.

This study explores New Zealand residents’ perceptions of factors associated with support for cruise tourism using the CruisERT framework. Survey data from 702 residents of port communities were analysed using SPSS. Findings highlight positive impacts such as economic benefits (employment and business opportunities) and social improvements (better facilities and quality of life). However, positive economic outcomes did not influence their support for cruise tourism. Instead, support for cruise tourism is strongly linked to perceived positive social and environmental impacts. Negative perceptions include environmental harm, unequal financial benefits, and reduced quality of local offerings. Compared to other tourism types, cruise tourism is the least preferred for development. These insights can guide stakeholders in developing sustainable and community-friendly cruise tourism.

Tourism is one of the most important industries in Europe: it represents 10% of the European Union GDP and 12 million people are employed in this sector (UNWTO, 2018). Due to its important contribution to the economy and its impact on the community, it affects the everyday life of residents, both in a positive and negative way. Within the industry, cruise tourism is the fastest growing segment of leisure tourism (Klein, 2011). In the last twenty years, the cruise sector has increased significantly, amounting to 24.7 million passengers in 2016 (CLIA, 2018) and employing 1,021,681 people around the world (BREA, 2017). Further, the cruise sector produces $57.9 billion in direct expenditures, thus creating a total economic output of $125.96 billion worldwide. In this scenario, academic research has devoted to analyze the residents’ perceptions and attitudes toward cruise tourism development (i.e. Brida et al., 2011; Del Chiappa & Abbate, 2016). However, studies have mostly analyzed cruising destinations in the Caribbean, Arctic and the polar areas (Hritz & Cecil 2008; Diedrich 2010; Klein 2010; Stewart et al., 2013; Heeney, 2015; Stewart et al., 2015; Jordan & Vogt, 2017) and, recently, also in the Mediterranean area (Marušić et al., 2008; Brida et al., 2012; Peručić & Puh, 2012; Pulina et al., 2013; Del Chiappa & Abbate 2016; Del Chiappa et al., 2017; Del Chiappa, et al., 2018b; Del Chiappa, et al., 2018c), mainly focusing on port-of-call cruise destinations. Despite this, only few studies have been carried out on homeport cruise destinations so far (Brida & Zapata 2010), and very few studies exist on destinations where the number of tourists creates massive overcrowding. This study was therefore carried out by surveying a quota sample of 354 individuals residing in Venice. Venice was selected as the research setting for this study for two main reasons. First, it is the second homeport in the Mediterranean area and one of the most famous tourism destinations worldwide, with around 24 million tourists a year. Second, it is considered to be affected by the so-called overtourism phenomenon (Seraphin et al., 2018). Anti-tourism movements have been growing in the last few years, voicing their concerns toward the continuous growth of the tourism phenomenon in the city, particularly toward cruise-related activities. This renders the research setting particularly interesting for the purposes of this study. Specifically, this paper aims to profile residents in Venice according to their perceptions towards the impacts of cruise tourism, and to ascertain whether there are significant differences among the clusters based on the socio-demographic traits of respondents.

The phenomenal growth of modern-day cruise tourism – passenger numbers increased more than 40-fold globally between 1970 and 2018 – has been built on a combination of unique factors that have made it the most profitable sector in the tourism industry. However, the picture is not always so rosy for the port destinations as it is for the cruise corporations. This book seeks to provide a holistic picture of the cruise industry’s business operations and its social, environmental, and economic impacts on destinations in the Caribbean. Based on this analysis, this concluding chapter outlines how ports of call can better assess the costs and benefits of cruise tourism and determine more equitable and sustainable terms of engagement. In this final chapter, I summarize the key findings and lessons learned from the analysis of cruise tourism and then provide a series of recommendations for reforms. While these recommendations are geared to countries in the Caribbean, many are applicable for other cruise destinations, as well.

There is currently a lack of up-to-date knowledge on the fundamental variables as elemental factors that influence perceived cruise-port quality. This research aims to examine the confirmatory components of those factors in reflective and formative terms in order to develop a set of perceived port quality (PPQ) variables. The study adopts a quantitative research methodology, collecting data via a questionnaire survey. The research sample consisted of 305 respondents, while the collected data were analyzed using GSCA Pro software version 1.1.6. The research findings reaffirm the elemental factors of perceived port quality (PPQ), constructed from the following five significant categories as first-order constructs, namely cruise terminal facilities, port service encounter performance, port location, ground port transportation, and physical port environment quality. These were assessed through the 36 observed variables in this study, which included significant reflective and formative constructs. Executives, cruise tourism managers, and ports, will be able to use the results of the study as guidelines for designing policies and strategies to develop cruise tourism in the port area. Meanwhile, academics may employ these sets of variables to examine in combination with other factors in future research.

ABSTRACTIn light of increasing global competition amongst international cruise destinations; growing demand for cruise tourism; and the lack of empirical studies on the “real” destination experience, satisfaction, and intentions to return and recommend (i.e., cruise destination loyalty), the current study investigates cruise visitor satisfaction, cruise destination experience, and the resulting behavioral intention as it relates to the cruise destination of Aruba, Dutch Caribbean. Because of increased reliance of small island economies on cruise tourism receipts and visitor expenditures, cruise ports throughout the Caribbean are seeking ways to improve the quality of destination services and experiences. Results indicate that cruise visitors are satisfied with their visit to Aruba and that overall destination experience in addition to satisfaction, were found to be significant predictors of cruise visitor loyalty.

Museums are main tourist resources for independent cruise passengers in cultural cruise destinations. However, their influence on cruise destinations is scarcely analyzed. The aim of this paper was to focus on two questions: What distribution of museums facilitates a sustainable mobility of cruise tourists in balance with urban needs? And which factors affect the potential use of both means of sustainable travel—soft mobility and public transport—at cruise destinations? The network topological features of main museums were analyzed to compare similar features among tourism destinations. A topological study based on the model of the three urban fabrics was related to the objective quality of PT. This allowed for a greater walkability or potential use of PT to be estimated. The results allowed for a diverse sample of cultural tourism port cities with cruise activity to be classified in three centralized levels and two decentralized ones. Results indicated that centralized networks are more prone to cruise tourists, while decentralized networks are more related to main cultural destinations. Finally, the discussion section analysed recommendations and measures to improve sustainable mobility and the planning of new museums. The results of this paper will be of interest to cultural and transport managers at these types of destinations.

With the characteristics of global nature, openness and interconnectivity, cruise tourism can effectively promote the development of regional tourism integration. 2018 Action Plan for Promoting the Development of Regional Tourism Integration in the Yangtze River Delta signed in December 2017 points out that the Yangtze River Delta needs to realize the regional tourism integration on a larger scale by relying on the “Big Planning”, “Big Brand”, “Big Promotion” and “Big Regulation” and, in particular, increase the inbound tourism turnover by linking up with the Belt and Road Initiative. As the Yangtze River Delta is the leader of mainland China in the aspect of cruise tourism development, the construction of “cruise tourism integration” featured with solid foundation, open market, openness, inclusiveness and unified standard is propitious to the deepening of tourism integration contents and the enhancing of the integrated competitiveness of regional tourism in the Yangtze River Delta. This report mainly refers to the domestic and foreign experience to discuss how to realize the cruise tourism integration in the Yangtze River Delta region. First of all, the relationship between cruise tourism integration and regional tourism integration is analyzed. Then the development experience in domestic tourism integration, EU tourism integration, Florida cruise tourism and European inland river cruise tourism are discussed. Finally, the countermeasures and suggestions for the construction of the cruise tourism integration in the Yangtze River Delta are proposed. The goal is to construct the “Yangtze River Delta Cruise Tourism Economy Circle” in the large market through the two-way interaction between cruise tourism integration and regional tourism integration to get through the bottleneck of tourist sources, resources, information, service, channel and other factors.

Foreword Norman Douglas & Ngaire Douglas. 1. Setting the Scene: Polar Cruise Tourism in the 21st Century. Part 1: Market Dimensions. 2. Polar Yacht Cruising. 3. Cruising to the North Pole aboard a Nuclear Icebreaker. 4. Selling the Adventure of a Lifetime: An Ethnographic Report on Cruising in the Antarctic. Part 2: Human Dimensions. 5. Cruises and Bruises: Safety, Security, and Social Issues on Polar Cruises. 6. Exploring the Ethical Standards of Alaska Cruise Ship Tourists and the Role they Inadvertently Play in the Unsustainable Practices of the Cruise Ship Industry. 7. Students on Ice - Learning in the Greatest Classrooms on Earth. Part 3: Environmental Dimensions. 8. Environmental Impacts of Polar Cruises. 9. Monitoring Patterns of Cruise Tourism across Arctic Canada 10. Climate Change and its Implications for Cruise Tourism in the Polar Regions. Part 4: Policy and Governance Dimensions. 11. Stakeholder Perspectives on the Governance of Antarctic Cruise Tourism. 12. Port Readiness Planning in the Arctic: Building Community Support. 13. Beyond the Cruise: Navigating Sustainable Policy and Practice in Alaska's Inland Passage. Part 5: Conclusions. 14. Moving Forward. Index.