Eliciting cruise destination attributes using repertory grid analysis

Abstract

Abstract As the North American cruise industry matures and becomes increasingly competitive, both cruise lines and cruise destinations need to look for new ways to retain current customers and attract new tourists. Currently the literature lacks significant examination of destination image related to cruise tourism, specifically from the perspectives of cruise passengers. Understanding how passengers perceive the cruise destination can provide cruise lines and destinations with valuable information to develop new tourism offerings and improve marketing communications. This study explores destination image in the context of cruise tourism with a focus on the cruise ship and ports of call as co-destinations. The personal constructs of cruise destination image are identified from the cruise passengers’ point of view through the use of repertory grid analysis and open-ended questions. The resulting personal constructs represent the onboard and onshore cruise destination attributes that cruise tourists use to compare and differentiate between cruise lines, ships, and destinations in the decision-making process of a cruise vacation. Results provide a number of practical contributions related to improving the cruise experience for passengers, increasing the effectiveness of targeted marketing, and providing advances to the way cruise tourism research is conducted by using an unbiased passenger-based focus in understudied areas.