Cruise Business Development

Transcription

1 Cruise Business Development

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3 Alexis Papathanassis Editor Cruise Business Development Safety, Product Design and Human Capital

4 Editor Alexis Papathanassis Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Germany ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Control Number: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland

5 Editorial Note Cruises can be characterised as a killer combination of holiday features. Cruises optimally combine comfortable travel, high-quality service, and experience diversity to produce an unbeatable value-for-money holiday proposition. Arguably, this is one of the main reasons behind the sector s continuous growth over the last years. Despite an ever-increasing cost base (esp. fuel costs), financial crisis, piracy, incidents at sea (e.g. Costa Concordia) and, more recently, terrorist attacks (e.g. hostage incident in Tunisia), the cruise industry has effectively navigated to economically calm waters. Worldwide cruise capacities are growing steadily, new source markets and segments are being entered, and passenger numbers are increasing. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned has left its toll on the industry s success course. Negative press on the cruise sector s environmental and socio-economic impacts, public criticism on tax avoidance and the flags of convenience and exposure of questionable employment practices and safety concerns have rendered corporate social responsibility and reputation management vital for business success in the medium and long term. Innovation management and product development have mutated from a strictly company-level, product-/service-focused tactical task to an industry-wide, experience management strategic challenge. The intangible, reputational aspects of the cruise experience, as well as the peripheral (i.e. outside the boundaries of the cruise vessel) components and stakeholders, are becoming increasingly important for customer acquisition and retention. The increasing size of cruise vessels and the accompanying standardisation of facilities and itineraries, in conjunction with the hybridisation of cruise passengers (i.e. alternating between cruises and conventional holiday packages), all expand the competitive boundaries and competition intensity of the cruise sector. Considering the above, it follows that addressing safety, image and responsibility issues have evolved to being more than a public relations campaign; they have actually become the very essence of strategic cruisebusiness development. This book addresses these aspects though a thematically organised selection of peer-reviewed, original research papers, presented during the 5th International v

6 vi Editorial Note Cruise Conference held in Bremerhaven (Germany) between the 24 and 26 of January This proceedings volume consists of three parts: cruise safety, cruise design and human capital. Addressing those aspects, a number of main themes emerged during the conference, which can be summarised as follows (Papathanassis 2014): Unique guests micro-understanding vs. macro-descriptions: Despite the extensive marketing research in the cruise sector, there is still a limited research and by implication understanding of the behavioural and decisional micro-dynamics of cruise passengers. Relevant topics covered in this volume refer to the experiences and motives of solo cruisers, the development customer loyalty, the effects of co-branding, the utilisation of social media and the interpretation/impact of visual images in cruise brochures. Too-big to sail? incident management at sea: In light of the latest cruise accidents and disasters, the cruise sector, regulators and experts have focused their efforts on redefining the regulatory architecture to account for newly emerging safety and security risks. Criminality on board, power loses and fires often do not reach the international headlines. Nevertheless such less sensational incidents are expected to become more frequent due to increasing cruise ship sizes, passenger mix (demographics and diversity) and technological dependence/complexity. In this respect, updated regulations and technological standards may not be sufficient. Integrating behavioural and socio-psychological elements could redefine safety and security on board from a liability issue to a management responsibility challenge Lawspitality vs. hospitality social responsibility at the age of transparency: Due to the cruise sector s globalisation, environment protection and safety regulations are difficult to enforce and control. Cruise operators on the other hand have been accused of greenwashing and of treating sustainability as a public relations campaign. This approach contradicts the sector s mantra true hospitality and renders the characterisation guest somewhat superficial. Although cruise passengers seem to be reluctant in paying a premium for green options, they have come to expect high standards in relation to environmental protection as well as to safety and security. Business case for cruise education questioning the value of cruise/tourism education: Research in tourism education in general, and cruise education in particular, has been traditionally focusing to the interdisciplinarity of the curriculum, its practical relevance and employability/competence requirements. Nonetheless, education comes at a cost, and it may be worth questioning the benefits and its economic justification especially considering that most academic programmes in this domain are publicly financed. The aim of this proceeding volume, following the International Cruise Conference series, is to raise and address relevant but also controversial (and somewhat provocative) questions, which extent beyond a mere description of the cruise sector s growth quantification and current operational practices. A systemic, holistic view of cruise tourism as a social phenomenon (i.e. not just economic) reveals a

7 Editorial Note vii number of significant implications outside the boundaries of a cruise vessel, which call for effective and professional management. As editor of this proceedings book, I wish and hope it provides food for thought for current and future cruise professionals, researcher and students. Bremerhaven, Germany Alexis Papathanassis Reference Papathanassis, A. (2014). Cruise sector & Glocal corporate citizenship: The 5th International Cruise Conference, Bremerhaven, Germany January International Journal of Tourism Research. doi: /jtr.2006.

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9 Acknowledgements This book is dedicated to the fellows and associates of the Cruise Research Society. It is their openness, enthusiasm and commitment that are enabling us to gradually develop an emerging knowledge base in the area of cruise tourism. Particular thanks to the co-authors for their contributions. Moreover, our gratitude goes to the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences and rectorate for providing the resources necessary to finance and produce this piece of work. Our appreciation also goes to Dr. Martina Bihn and Christian Rauscher from Springer (our publishers) for their patience, professional support and flexibility. Finally, we would like to explicitly mention and thank the sponsors of the 5th International Cruise Conference in Bremerhaven: Columbus Cruise Center Bremerhaven (Veit Huerdler, Malaike Massoth, Karen Reinke) and Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH/ Bremerhaven Touristik (Jochem Sch ottler, Tanja Mehl). ix

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11 Contents Part I Cruise Safety 1 Safety, Security, Health and Social Responsibility... 3 Ross A. Klein 2 Crime at Sea: A Comparison of Crime on Carnival Cruise Lines, Ross A. Klein 3 Stranded at Sea : Exploring Passengers Reactions During Incidents at Sea Alexis Papathanassis Part II Cruise Design: Business Models, Destinations & Products 4 Rise of Alternative Business Models in the Era of Expensive Megaships Mehdi Mozuni and Wolfgang Jonas 5 Port Dues as an Element of Cruise Port Competitiveness Antun Asic and Tihomir Lukovic 6 Cruise Tourism in Northeast Asia Hyunju Lee 7 Information-Knowledge-Experience: Heraklion Port Case Study Maria Lekakou, Evangelia Stefanidaki, Ioannis Bras, and Dimitris Vintzilaios 8 Vacation Promises in the Visual Language of Cruise Catalogues Wolfgang Jonas and Carolin Kowollik xi

12 xii Contents 9 Quantifying Aesthetic Preferences in Cruise Ship Exterior Design Jung-Hwa Jo and Wolfgang Jonas 10 On-Board Cultures of Cruise Ships and Cruise Product Development Carolin Kowollik and Wolfgang Jonas 11 Cruise Customer Loyalty Improvement with Social Media Imke Heinze, Nadine Guhr, and Michael H. Breitner 12 Creating Loyal Customers: Three Generations of Cruise Travellers Caroline Ann Wiscombe 13 Cruise Passengers Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Cruises Lena Mantel and Alexis Papathanassis Part III Human Capital: Training, Education & Research 14 Who Should Pay for Higher Education in Cruise Management? Michael P. Vogel 15 The Future of Student Work Placements at Sea Luke Slater and Philip Gibson 16 Quantitative Analyses in Cruise Tourism Studies Carl H. Marcussen