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

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.

RESEARCH OF CHANGES IN THE SEA FERRY AND CRUISE NETWORKS OF THE BALTIC SEA UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

Cruise shipping is the calling card of many countries. In view of the downturn in this cruise industry due to Covid-19, it is necessary to develop new models and decision-making methods to reach pre-crisis levels. One such tool is the analysis and subsequent modernization of the route networks of ferry and cruise lines. The study presents models applicable to the regions of the seas. The object of the research is the Baltic Sea region and the existing route cruise networks. The article provides a global analysis of the cruise industry, confirming the need for modernization and the search for new solutions. Simply restarting the route networks, based on the 2019 networks, is not enough today. To solve the problem, a graph model of route networks is given, a model of route network organization is given, taking into account various subnetworks. To expand the capabilities of sea ferry and cruise lines, a theoretical model is proposed that allows the passenger to switch from one route to another, thus providing more flexibility and variety than the classical route through a given system of ports. The presented models are supported by examples of development of sea passenger ports and terminals of St. Petersburg, sea ferry networks of the Baltic Sea. Further research questions are presented. The presented model allows expanding the possibilities of the region, making them more attractive for passengers.

Marketing Strategies of Travel and Tourism Industry

Travel and Tourism is an assemblage of all the leisure, luxuries, comfort, travel products, and services provided by suppliers including airlines, hotels, transportation like self-drive agencies, cruise lines, restaurants, etc. All these functions require marketing. This study aims to explore the marketing patterns of tourist agencies to increase customer awareness. The tourism sector also helps to promote the various hotels, restaurants, rental agencies by giving a platform for all these services to promote their services and also provide a customer discount for customer satisfaction.

The repercussions of COVID-19 on the stock market of the Tourism industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has already caused important negative consequences on the tourism industry globally. The lockdown measures suspended the tourism activities, and many tourists preferred to abstain from these activities in fear of the virus infection. As a result, investors have abandoned tourism-related companies’ stocks, impacting, even more, the tourism industry. In this paper, we examine the biggest companies’ stocks related to tourism, from the fields of airlines, cruise lines, resorts, hotel groups, travel agents, and other tourism activities (such as car rentals). Using time series analysis, we test and analyze the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on these stocks, and we derive the spillover effects through the impulse-response functions from each company to the others. Based on our findings, the tourism-related stocks were affected by COVID-19, as shown by the causality technique, and, moreover, the tourism-related companies are interconnected with each other, transmitting the shock from a specific tourism industry to the others, as shown by the impulse-response functions.

Cruise lines are banking on regular sailings next year

Significance The largest cruise companies, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Royal Norwegian, expect no sailings from US ports until at least November. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down global cruising in mid-March, condemning older ships to the breakers and disrupting the working lives and incomes of some 1.5 million people. Impacts Hotels, restaurants, airlines and tour companies offering cruise passengers facilities have lost custom, leading to closures. Ship financing is becoming harder to secure and increasingly costly. A market that emphasised global outlook is fragmenting into short-haul regional operations. Once-popular months-long world cruises have been suspended, with many ports refusing entry.

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.