Assessing cruise port of call performance: a passenger-based approach using PLS modelling

In the present context of booming cruise demand, the study aims to advance the knowledge on port of call performance from cruise passengers’ perspective. The aim of this investigation was twofold: (1) to examine the structural links among port of call perceived quality–satisfaction–future intentions (revisit and word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviour); and (2) to test the moderating effect of cruisers’ motivation (push versus pull factors) to visit the port of call on the proposed structural links. Partial least squares path modelling was used to test the proposed model with a sample of 492 cruise passengers at a Mediterranean port of call. The findings revealed that port of call quality has a positive impact on port of call satisfaction, which in turn, strongly affects revisit and WOM intention. Besides, the results of the multi-group analysis indicated that the links between port of call quality–satisfaction and port of call satisfaction–WOM are moderated by cruisers’ motivation. Implications for port authorities and cruise lines are discussed.     

Evaluating air emission inventories and indicators from cruise vessels at ports

This paper provides an estimation of air emissions (CO₂, NO_X, SO_X and PM) released by cruise vessels at the port level. The methodology is based on the “full bottom-up” approach and starts by evaluating the fuel consumed by each vessel on the basis of its individual port activities (manoeuvring, berthing and hoteling). The Port of Barcelona was selected as the site at which to perform the analysis, in which 125 calls of 30 cruise vessels were monitored. Real-time data from the automatic identification system (AIS), factor emissions from engine certificates and vessel characteristics from IHS Sea-web database were also collected for the analysis. The research findings show that the most appropriate indicators are inventory emissions per “port-time gross tonnage”, “port-time passenger” and “port time”. These emission indicators improve our understanding of cruise emissions and will facilitate the work that aims to estimate reliably and quickly the in-port ship emission inventories of cruise ports.     

Monetary and non-monetary value creation in cruise port destinations: an empirical assessment

The cruise tourism industry has been the fastest growing segment of the global travel sector over the last decades. Due to its dramatic expansion, this sector has recently attracted an increasing interest from researchers and practitioners.

Despite this attention, however, some literature gaps still persist. Indeed, extant contributions facing the cruise tourism (positive) impact on the local community neglect to investigate the potential overall value disruption caused by cruise traffic diversion towards other destinations.

Therefore, this paper measures the overall value potentially generated for the territory by a cruise company, which is not a shareholder of the facility in a port of call. The monetary and non-monetary value is estimated using empirical data collected from 208 cruise passengers and 64 crewmembers. The results show the total amount of passenger, crew and cruise-line expenditures (i.e., monetary impact), as well as the non-monetary effect triggered by word-of-mouth behaviour. The main ?ndings yield several implications for academics, managers and policymakers.     

Estimation of the shore excursion expenditure function during cruise tourism in Korea

Recently, the number of foreign tourists to Korea via cruise ships has increased dramatically. We attempted to estimate the shore excursion expenditure function during cruise tourism in Korea. To this end, we collected data from a survey of foreign tourists who visited Korea via cruise ships and conducted the ordered probit model with sample selection to correct for the sample selection bias. Statistical tests indicate that the sample selection model provides unbiased estimates of the ordered probit model. The estimation results reveal that the coefficients of the experience of visiting Korea, job status, annual income, and nationality have statistically significant relationships with shopping expenditure. Further, it is likely that Chinese and Japanese passengers spend more money on shopping than passengers from other countries. This study is expected to provide the Korean government and port authorities with useful information for targeting passengers with high shore excursion expenditure. From a management perspective, the results of this analysis will enable cruise operators to design shore excursion programs that meet travelers’ needs.     

世界邮轮旅游产业发展概况与空间结构特征研究

港口休闲旅游功能是新时期我国沿海港口功能拓展的重要方向,各地政府部门正着力推动邮轮旅游产业的发展。通过分析世界邮轮旅游产业发展的总体趋势和相关要素的空间结构特征,提出沿海地区进行邮轮港布局规划的思路要点,为国内沿海地区相关行业规划工作提供借鉴。     

Cruise Traffic Seasonality Patterns in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea: A Challenge to Port Operators

The positive trend in the cruise industry since the beginning of the twenty-first century brings with it a series of challenges, mainly for cruise lines and ports. Among them is the seasonality of cruise traffic. This study examines the seasonality of the cruise traffic in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea. A sample of 26 ports in 7 countries forms the basis of the empirical analysis, which uses the monthly total cruise passenger movements of each port during the period from 2005 to 2015 as a variable. Methodologically, a “dynamic” classification of ports structured in three sizes is proposed, the seasonality pattern of each port is determined, a cluster analysis is applied to group the ports in clusters with homogeneous patterns, and the changes in seasonal concentration during the analysis period are determined using a Gini coefficient. The main findings suggest the heterogeneity of the ports in the analyzed area and the existence of two clusters with different seasonality patterns. Furthermore, a list of strategies is provided to address the negative effects of cruise traffic seasonality in the management of cruise terminals, taking into account that each cluster obtained requires different strategies.     

Competition model of cruise home ports based on the cruise supply chain – based on China cruise market

This paper addresses issues of cruise home port competition based on the cruise supply chain. A pricing model of the cruise market is developed considering the competitive cooperation behaviors of the participants in the cruise supply chain. Furthermore, a model of cruise home port competition is developed to investigate the impacts of subsidy participants in the cruise supply chain on cruise home ports. The results indicate that subsidy policies change the market equilibrium, promote the upstream and downstream integration of cruise supply chain, and enhance cruise home port competitiveness. Subsidies to cruise line increase the payoffs of cruise supply chain and ports’ profit. Subsidies to travel agency decrease passenger costs and improve all ports’ profits. For the long-term development of cruise home port, the consequents can be used as policy suggestions.     

广东省邮轮码头布局规划

通过分析影响邮轮旅游发展的主要因素,包括消费群体、旅游资源、邮轮码头建设条件等,结合广东省邮轮码头的发展环境,提出广东省邮轮码头的发展定位和总体发展格局,即形成国际邮轮母港、地区性母港和多点挂靠的分层次格局。     

Interpretation of cruise industry in a two-sided market context: An exploration on Japan

Two-sided markets are characterised by the presence of an intermediary and two groups of end-users. In the cruise market, cruise lines may play the role of intermediaries to connect the two end-users, viz. cruise passengers and cruise ports. Our research explored whether the cruise industry can be regarded as a two-sided market, starting with a theoretical modelling. The findings show that cruise lines might be hybrid intermediaries, selling their own ship-based products and services, while offering also a platform to enable the transaction between cruise passengers and cruise ports. This particular business model of a quasi-two-sided market is also reflected in the pricing scheme of cruise industry, whereby cruise ports charge an entry fee from cruise lines and port dues from cruise passengers. We illustrate an empirical analysis on the basis of the cruise market in Japan, and it provides a preliminary clue that the behaviours of cruise ports and cruise lines are consistent with our theoretical framework. The results are not convincingly significant due to data limitations, hence, the concept of a ‘two-sided market’ in the cruise industry call for further empirical research.     

基于DEA模型的我国邮轮母港的综合评价

针对现阶段我国邮轮母港建设过盛的情况,运用DEA模型对我国相对有可能发展成邮轮母港的港口城市进行评价。通过分析影响邮轮母港建设的因素和条件,构建邮轮母港指标体系进行评价,并对得出的结果进行分析,解决邮轮港口功能定位的问题,即发展国际邮轮母港和发展国际邮轮靠泊港孰优的问题。     

Geography and the cruise ship port selection process

The cruise ship industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid expansion. New cruise capacity threatens to produce overtonnaging, with future berths exceeding demand. Despite this development, cruise operators are confident that a growing North American market will be able to satisfy the equilibrium condition sought by vessel operators. This research explores where the new tonnage might be deployed and its eventual impact on the cruise industry. Geographic concepts are utilized to test and support the premise that geography contributes positively to the cruise port selection process. Itineraries, influenced by ‘site’ and ‘situation,’ are presently still the most important factor affecting cruise port selection.     

Geography and the cruise ship port selection process

The cruise ship industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid expansion. New cruise capacity threatens to produce overtonnaging, with future berths exceeding demand. Despite this development, cruise operators are confident that a growing North American market will be able to satisfy the equilibrium condition sought by vessel operators. This research explores where the new tonnage might be deployed and its eventual impact on the cruise industry. Geographic concepts are utilized to test and support the premise that geography contributes positively to the cruise port selection process. Itineraries, influenced by 'site' and 'situation,' are presently still the most important factor affecting cruise port selection.     

邮船电力推进系统安全返港评估

以某邮船为例,采用系统总体评估和事故界限区域详细评估的方法,对电力推进系统的配置方案、设备布置、电缆选型和走向、系统关联等进行分析,评估电力推进系统设计方案是否满足安全返港规范要求,为邮船其他系统的安全返港评估提供指导。     

巴巴多斯岛的船只

对于船舶爱好者而言,巴巴多斯岛为他们拍摄大量豪华旅游客船提供了绝佳的机会,因为这些船会频繁地在该港口停泊,其他类型的船只也是这座充满田园情趣的加勒比岛屿的常客,这其中包括内陆船、小型沿海船、油轮,集装箱船和散装货船。多年来很多爱好者可以在码头前沿拍摄到在此停泊飘荡的各种类型的船只,但是现在却很难再接近码头了。[编者按]     

A proposed simulation-based operational policy for cruise ships in the port of Kotor

This paper investigates the simulation modelling of cruise ship traffic in the Boka Kotorska Bay (BKB), which has become a very attractive cruise destination due to its geographic location, port features and attractiveness for tourism. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of new port infrastructure, because of the increased cruise ship arrivals in recent years. The paper describes in detail the layout of the port of Kotor and the possibilities for quay extensions. The solution to minimize the number of ships at anchorage instead of being at berth is given, because the passengers of the latter ships have a more convenient approach towards the port. The simulation model is verified and the simulation results are validated against the real data prior to an investigation of the possible scenario for quay extension. The proposed solution confirms the preliminary survey results that initiated the investigation of possibilities to improve the port infrastructure. Moreover, simulation results point towards a significant improvement of cruise ships throughput in the BKB. The proposed operational policies and statistical analysis, as well as a comprehensive model analysis of the BKB provided here, are a good foundation for future investigations.     

An investigation into the suitability of an enclosed seaport for cruise ships the case of Leith

This paper considers port infrastructure, in terms of the physical limitations placed on vessel size, at the major cruise ship ports in northern Europe. Physical design characteristics and vessel size restrictions common to these ports are identified. The same physical design charactersitics and vessels limitations are considered in the context of a port with cruise ship ambitions, viz. Leith. The subsequent analysis suggests that infrastructure design weaknesses at a given port, in this case the presence of an entrance lock and tidal delay, may act as a deterrent to cruise ships. Primary data gathered from cruise lines and from observation of cruise ship activity at Leith supports this hypothesis. These findings have implications for both seaports and cruise lines.     

Improving port effectiveness through determinance/performance gap analysis

Port managers, governments, and stakeholders bring different perspectives to the challenges of port management. One of the greatest of these challenges is identifying and prioritizing investments to take advantage of the opportunities for future growth and to meet the needs of customers and users seeking value in the supply chains served by the port. Importance–performance gap analysis, based on discrepancies between performance effectiveness and user expectations, has been illustrated to be one means of guiding these decisions while determinance scores offer another. However, user perceptions of satisfaction and effectiveness often lead to conflicting signals between these two methods when port managers seek to allocate resources for performance improvements. The authors develop a mapping process based on determinant/performance gap analysis to address conflicting signals between the methodologies for evaluating performance effectiveness and thereby assist port managers in making appropriate performance investment decisions that will address users’ requirements.     

广东省邮轮旅游发展前景与客运量预测

在分析广东省邮轮旅游发展现状的基础上,结合区域经济发展水平对广东省邮轮旅游发展前景进行分析,参考邮轮旅游的实际营运情况,按照邮轮航线的不同,将广东省邮轮旅游游客划分为境内邮轮旅客及境外到访邮轮旅客,并根据其不同的特点分航线预测广东省港口邮轮旅客运量发展水平。     

出行者特征要素对公交服务模式的影响分析

公共交通是面向大众的服务,公共交通服务模式的制定与完善需要重点考虑出行者的出行需求,才能从根本上提高公共交通的竞争力。借鉴服务经济学的理论将公共交通服务模式分为公交服务标准、出行者界面、公交服务环境和技术4个维度。基于攀枝花市居民出行调查与公交专项调查数据,应用SPSS定量分析出行者特征要素与公交服务选择的相关性,以考察研究出行者对于公交服务的需求,并提出改善策略。通过研究表明,出行目的、出行时间、职业和年龄与公交服务模式的相关性较大。     

Revisiting port pricing; a proposal for seven port pricing principles

A review of seven large landlord port authorities around the world reveals a notable diversity of pricing structures. While port authorities increasingly act as commercial undertakings, port pricing often seems to be not driven by commercial considerations. In this paper, we argue that ports can be regarded as “business ecosystems” with multiple users. This provides a valuable perspective on pricing and raises the question of whether ports can be regarded as two-sided markets. We argue this is not the case. The business ecosystem perspective provides a basis for deducing seven pricing principles for port authorities that are detailed in the paper and illustrated with cases these principles. These pricing principles are broadly follow a direct user pays approach; capture value from “non-core” tenants; price aggressively for activities with a high strategic value; differentiate pricing based on price elasticity and connectivity improvements; maximize revenue from long-term lease agreements, price port dues competitively; critically consider differentiation of charges based on environmental performance; and finally use incentives to align interests of terminal operators and shipping lines. We conclude that the ecosystem perspective is central to the understanding of pricing decisions of port authorities and that various pricing issues deserve more attention.