Apocalypse Now or Overreaction to Coronavirus: The Global Cruise Tourism Industry Crisis

The current COVID-19 cruise tourism crisis has evolved to epic proportions and placed some of the cruise lines on the verge of bankruptcy. This research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the crisis. Using an inductive qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with eight frequent cruisers who were at home and eight cruise ship employees who were employed by various cruise companies and who were working on cruise ships during the COVID-19 cruise tourism crisis. The findings revealed a systematic failure within the cruise industry management to understand the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of this study highlight the importance of health-related perceived risks on the nature and impact of the COVID-19 cruise tourism crisis. This study supports the overall theory of cruise tourism and crisis management by extending the chaos theory and its principals on the COVID-19 cruise tourism crisis. The managerial implications for cruise lines are outlined.

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Global Impacts and Trends of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Cruise Sector: A Focus On South Africa

African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure ◽

10.46222/ajhtl.19770720-84 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10(1) (10(1)) ◽

pp. 22-39

Author(s):

Reshma Sucheran

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Global Scale ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

News Reports ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Health Related ◽

Global Impacts ◽

The Impact

Cruise tourism is one of the major growth areas of international tourism, and the impact of cruise tourists on a national economy is similar to that of other foreign visitors. The cruise industry has, however, continuously faced exposure to various types of health risks, which can develop into health-related crises, to which both passengers and crew members are vulnerable The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic has reached a critical situation on a global scale and is severely impacting on the global cruise tourism industry. This papers seeks to examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cruise tourism industry globally and in South Africa specifically. Desktop research was undertaken to gather data and insights on the unfolding global pandemic and its effect on the cruise sector. Secondary data from various national and international organisations was analysed, as well as current news reports and academic literature. The data indicates that the cruise sector is one of the hardest hit sectors of the tourism industry, and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector is devastating. The data further implies that the future of the cruise industry looks bleak, especially due to the reputational damage the sector is currently faced with.

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Sustainable Cruise Tourism in Marine World Heritage Sites

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12020611 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 611 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lee K. Cerveny ◽

Anna Miller ◽

Scott Gende

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

World Heritage ◽

Air Emissions ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

World Heritage Sites ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Industry Sectors ◽

Cruise Lines

Cruise-ship tourism is one of the fastest growing industry sectors, with itineraries that regularly visit marine parks and protected areas. UNESCO Marine World Heritage (MWH) Sites feature some of the world’s most exceptional ecosystems, resulting in some cruise lines targeting these sites. To understand the extent of cruise ship visitation and determine perceptions of cruise ship sustainability within and across environmental, economic, and sociocultural dimensions, we conducted an online survey of 45 (out of 50) sites. The survey included responses about the characteristics of cruise ship visitation, strategies for sustainably managing ships, and ideas for encouraging sustainable practices. Among the 45 respondents, 30 (67%) indicated that their MWH site hosts cruise ships or cruise ship passengers, and 25 sites have cruise ships that enter the protected area marine waters. Most sites (62%) indicated an increase in cruise visitation over the last three years. While most sites regulate ballast water (73%) and wastewater (73%) discharge, common concerns focused on ship air emissions and wildlife interactions. Lack of funds generated by cruise ships toward community infrastructure was noted. MWH site managers expressed interest in developing site networks to facilitate sharing of ideas as a first step for increasing sustainability across all sites.

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Dynamism Patterns of Western Mediterranean Cruise Ports and the Coopetition Relationships Between Major Cruise Ports

Polish Maritime Research ◽

10.2478/pomr-2018-0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 51-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jeronimo Esteve-Perez ◽

Antonio Garcia-Sanchez

Keyword(s):

21St Century ◽

Mediterranean Region ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Differentiated Products ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Cooperative Relationships ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Cruise Lines

Abstract The Mediterranean Sea has seen an increase of ports hosting cruise ships during the first fifteen years of the 21st century. The increase in cruise ship presence in Mediterranean ports is associated with the dynamism of cruise traffic in recent years, with an average annual growth of 7.45% for cruise passengers worldwide during the period of 1990-2015. Cruise traffic is a maritime business that is primarily composed of two elements, maritime affairs and tourism. This article focuses on the maritime component. With the growth of the cruise industry, cruise lines have been forced to seek new ports to meet demand in an attempt to create differentiated products based on the ports that compose the itinerary. The itinerary system of cruise traffic makes the cruise ports depend on one another to design an itinerary. This feature results in both complex geographic relationships in the design of a cruise itinerary and complex competitive/cooperative relationships between ports. The aim of this article is to present the hierarchic picture of a sample of 29 cruise ports in the Western Mediterranean region during the period of 2000-2015. To achieve this goal, a port size classification is proposed and a shift-share analysis at the inter- and intra-group size level is applied. Moreover, concentration measures are used to determine the changes in the levels of market concentration. Furthermore, a dynamic model is proposed to determine the competitive or cooperative relationships between cruise ports. The proposed model is applied to the largest ports with data from the 2001-2015 period.

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THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT OF BALINESE LABOR WORKING ON CRUISE SHIP

Journal of Business on Hospitality and Tourism ◽

10.22334/jbhost.v2i1.46 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 107

Author(s):

I Made Darma Oka

Keyword(s):

Labor Force ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

The Other ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

Cultural Perspective ◽

Social Phenomena ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Multiplier Effect ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

The Government

As one of the most popular destinations for international tourists, Bali has attracted a sizeable and growing labor force in the tourism sector of the economy. This fact has triggered Balinese labor force to participate in such a service industry. As a supplier of tourism labor force Bali has been increasingly successful in promoting the number of workers to be employed in cruise tourism industry. The participation rate of Balinese labor in cruise tourism industry over the last years has dramatically increased. The growth of Balinese labor who works on cruise ships in the past four years reached more than 18 percent. It is happening because they have been prepared themselves in accordance to the competencies and qualifications needed in cruise tourism industry. The Balinese labor’s participation in cruise tourism industry employment has brought major implications for their life and culture. The present study aimed to analyze the multiplier effect of Balinese labor works in cruise tourism industry overview from economic and socio-cultural perspective. The research subjects were Balinese labor who used to or were still working in the cruise tourism industry. This research used qualitative data. The collected data started from one Balinese labor having experience in the cruise tourism industry and then spread to the other workers. To answer the research questions, data collection was conducted through observation and deep interviews. The data were analyzed by qualitative analysis. In analyzing the data of economic and socio-cultural perspective of Balinese labor who work in the cruise tourism industry in the environment of life, it was done through the processing and interpretation of the data which is a series of periodic review, grouping, systematization, interpretation and reification of data so that a phenomenon has social academic and scientific value. The data analysis was conducted to find the hidden reasons behind the actions of the perpetrators of social action or geared towards social significance of social phenomena. The focus is to find what kind of mindset that glows behind a social phenomenon or to find the rationality that lies behind the social phenomena. The multiplier effect of Balinese labor working in cruise tourism industry was overviewed from economic and socio-cultural perspectives. The economic perspective likes: Balinese labor working on cruise ship able to improve the family economy, and employment for the community directly or indirectly in the cruise tourism industry. The socio-cultural perspective likes: by working on cruise ships able to motivate the other Balinese labor to works on cruise ships, with working on cruise ships can open the horizons and the way of thinking society, increase the personal discipline, make clean and healthy in their live, and then improve the science and technology in tourism especially at cruises, able to strengthen the unity of nation, anticipation for disintegration, and growth the awareness to conserve the cultural after seeing the variety of cultures in the word. Based on the conclusions above, the following suggestion can be made: the government should pay attention to the existence of Balinese labor, who work in cruise ships, to the protection of their rights as well as the relevant acts should be made clear, knowing that they serve as ambassadors of the nation that generate income for the country; and the government should provide support to Balinese laborers in accordance with their potential

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Balinese Women in The Cruise Ships Tourism Industry

E-Journal of Tourism ◽

10.24922/eot.v2i1.19440 ◽

1970 ◽

Author(s):

I Made Darma Oka ◽

Made Antara ◽

I Gede Mudana

Keyword(s):

Labor Force ◽

Family Income ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Economic Implication ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

Social Implication ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

The Government

As one of the most popular destinations for international tourists, Bali has attracted a sizeable and growing labor force in the tourism sector of the economy. This fact has triggered Balinese labor force to participate in such service industry. As a supplier of tourism labor force Bali has been increasingly successful in promoting the number of workers to be employed on cruise ships. The participation rate of Balinese women in cruise industry over the last four years has dramatically increased. The Balinese women’s participation in cruise ship employment has brought major implications for their life and culture. Generally, the present study aimed to provide an overview of Balinese women employed on board of a cruise ship. More specifically, it examined (1) the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by Balinese women working in cruise industry, (2) factors influencing them to work in the industry, and (3) the implications brought by such employment for their life and society. The present study used quantitative and qualitative data collected through economic, social, and cultural approach. The sample was comprised of 200 respondents selected using accidental sampling method. To answer the research questions, data collection was conducted through observation, interviews, as well as focus group discussion (FGD). The data on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by Balinese women on board of a cruise ship were analyzed using SWOT analysis, whereas the data on the factors influencing them to work in the cruise industry were analyzed using factor analysis. Finally, qualitative analysis was employed to analyze the data on the economic, social, and cultural implications for their life. The analysis showed that: (1) Balinese women were employed on board of a cruise linerpredominantly as support staff. The strengths of Balinese women cruise ship workers included being friendly, always smiling, being honest, being loyal, being responsible, and being highly skilled. Their weaknesses included having low motivation to get a high position, having low English proficiency level, and having insufficient self-confidence. The job opportunities were still high since women were generally reluctant to work in the cruise industry. The threats they faced included the lack of concern on the part of the government, agents providing poor services and unjustly treating applicants. (2) The factors influencing Balinese women to work in the cruise industry were of economic, social, and cultural. (3) The implications brought by the cruise ship employment for Balinese women were divided into three: economic implication, social implication, and cultural implication. Economic implication refers to their ability to help increase their family income. (b) Social implication refers to the fact that through employment in the cruise industry they could elevate their and their family social status. Lastly, (3) cultural implication refers to their contribution to the preservation of their own culture (i.e. Balinese culture).

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Key Factors Driving the Demand for Cruising and Challenges Facing the Cruise Industry in the Future

Tourism ◽

10.37741/t.70.1.6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 87-100

Author(s):

Doris Peručić ◽

Marijana Greblički

Keyword(s):

Rapid Growth ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Key Factors ◽

Market Segments ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Travel Industry ◽

Cruise Lines

Cruises were the fastest growing sector in the travel industry. The rapid growth in demand was created originally by demand from North America, more recently Europe, and finally the rest of the world, China and Australia in particular. One of the main reasons for the rapid development and growth in popularity of cruises is that the cruise lines were successfully adapting to new travel trends delivering cruise ships with facilities and experiences tailored to the needs of travellers from all market segments. The corona crisis hit the cruise industry heavily and disrupted all plans, schedules and forecasts. This paper aims to analyze which factors were driving the demand for cruising on the world's leading source markets and the challenges facing the industry in a post-pandemic world. The findings show that the rapid growth in demand of cruise tourism was due to several factors, including the long-term growth in consumers’ disposable income, the adaptation of products to the requirements of new source markets and different market segments, more cruise capacity in new regions, and the development of national cruise brands.

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Exploring the final frontiers: Cruise tourism in polar regions.

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc130183 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 183

Author(s):

Ayesha Tulloch

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Use ◽

Social Sustainability ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Negative Impacts

CRUISE ship tourism is expanding rapidly in both the Arctic and Antarctic, with increased numbers and types of vessels, more demanding routes, and yearround activity as the final frontiers are opened to all types of visitors. The increase in access and in cruise activities, risks of accidents and negative impacts, and the effects of the large numbers of tourists in the polar regions bring significant management challenges for sustainable use of polar regions. In this timely context, Lück, Maher and Stewart have collected a range of discussions and viewpoints of the environmental and social sustainability issues concerning the cruise industry in polar regions.

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Fear and Trembling of Cruise Ship Employees: Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17186741 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (18) ◽

pp. 6741 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aleksandar Radic ◽

Michael Lück ◽

Antonio Ariza-Montes ◽

Heesup Han

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Focus Group ◽

Human Resource ◽

Qualitative Approach ◽

Psychological Effects ◽

Cruise Ship ◽

Comprehensive Strategy ◽

Management Leadership ◽

Managerial Implications ◽

Cruise Line

The current COVID-19 pandemic has evolved to unprecedented proportions. This research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ship employees stuck at sea. Using an inductive qualitative approach, a synchronous online focus group was conducted with nine cruise ship employees who were stuck at sea during COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that COVID-19 pandemic has managed to erase the feeling of joy from cruise ship employees who were stuck at sea while exposing weakness of cruise line companies such as poor human resource management leadership. Moreover, COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that it is of paramount importance that cruise line companies create a comprehensive strategy in assisting their employees who are experiencing an anxiety disorder and depression. The managerial implications are outlined.

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Quality of service as a factor of forming competitiveness in cruise tourism

Socio-Economic Research Bulletin ◽

10.33987/vsed.2(77).2021.143-162 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 143-162

Author(s):

Yevgeniia Gordiichuk

Keyword(s):

Service Quality ◽

Significant Influence ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Development Trends ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Modern Development ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Industry Competitiveness ◽

The Individual

The article highlights the development trends of the cruise industry as a promising direction of tourism industry, which shows steady growth over the past ten years. The aim of the article is to determine the current trends in the cruise market development in modern conditions and the levers for competitive tourist offer formation, taking into account the key principles of behavioral and impression economy. Using the methods of analysis and synthesis made it possible to generalize the competitive advantages of cruise tourism in accordance with modern development trends in the context of an inclusive economy of impressions. The factors of competitiveness formation in cruise tourism are highlighted and the importance of service quality as a determining factor for meeting the needs of tourists is substantiated, which affects the overall satisfaction of tourists and their choice in the future. A number of factors that have a significant influence on the competitiveness formation in cruise tourism are considered. The generally accepted factors that have a significant influence on the cruise industry competitiveness and their relationship with the basic principles of impression economy are analyzed. The interrelation of offer differentiation taking into account the individual subjectivity of the consumer is substantiated. It was proven, that marketing, innovation and service quality are elements of brand image formation and vital elements in a commercial environment and key factors for success in the cruise business sector. The emphasis is made on the importance of service component in the cruise industry competitiveness formation. Recommendations for identifying effective mechanisms for determining the degree of customer satisfaction are formulated. Key groups of quality indicators of cruise services which can influence the general satisfaction of tourists are proposed. The expediency of conducting a survey and questioning of cruise passengers in order to further improve the quality of cruise tourism services to increase the company’s competitiveness is substantiated.

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Globalization and Regionalization: Empirical Evidence from Itinerary Structure and Port Organization of World Cruise of Cunard

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12197893 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (19) ◽

pp. 7893

Author(s):

Xumao Li ◽

Chengjin Wang ◽

César Ducruet

Keyword(s):

Cruise Industry ◽

Global Industry ◽

Cruise Ships ◽

Local Mobility ◽

The World ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Different Dimensions ◽

Other World ◽

Main Component ◽

Geographical Space

Cruise tourism is an obviously global industry in different dimensions. From a geographical perspective, cruise ships are mobile and capable of being repositioned at a company’s notice, which forms the inherent basis for its global spatial layout. As a branch of the cruise industry, the world cruise is clearly globalizing in geographical space by offering long itinerary, even round-the-world trips, for everyone. Using the schedule data from 2018 to 2019, this paper analyzes the spatial characteristics of the itinerary and port organization of Cunard, a world cruise company. We find that the itinerary distribution and port organization of Cunard are both globalization and regionalization, and the latter is the core and main component of the former. Under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the global mobility of cruises has ground to a halt, while local mobility offers the possibility of its resumption as soon as possible. Turning to the regional voyage with the shorter and simple itinerary is feasible for Cunard and other world cruises, which is conducive to the realization of the resuming voyage as soon as possible. Moreover, strict boarding and safety onboard are essential.

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