Comparing Motivations and Intentions of Potential Cruise Passengers from Different Demographic Groups: The Case of China

Abstract

The cruise industry is the fastest growing leisure market in the world. As an essential component, the cruise market in China has been growing rapidly over recent years with the introduction of favorable government policies, new cruise terminals, and increased cruise awareness of customers. Unfortunately, only a few studies have investigated the perceptions of Mainland Chinese consumers toward such an industry. Hence, by adopting qualitative and quantitative research methods, this study explores how the motivation and intention of potential cruise consumers differ in terms of their demographic background. Travelers of different ages, incomes, and marital status groups demonstrate varying cruise motivations and intentions. The influences of motivation factors on the cruise intention of consumers were also explored. Both the theoretical and practical contributions of the study were proposed accordingly.

邮轮业是全球休闲市场中增长最快的。作为全球邮轮市场一个重要的组成部分，近年中国的邮轮市场正在快速增长，并引进对行业有利的政策和兴建新邮轮码头，及增进客户对邮轮的意识。可是，只有少数研究调查了中国大陆消费者对邮轮业的认知。本文采用定性和定量研究方法，探讨了人口背景如何影响潜在邮轮消费者的动机和意图。研究发现，来自不同年龄﹑收入和婚姻状况群组的旅客展现了不同的邮轮旅游动机和意图。本文亦就动机因素对消费者的邮轮旅游意向的影响进行了探讨。此项研究对理论和实践做出了贡献。

KEYWORDS:

• Cruise
• demographic background
• motivation
• intention
• China

关键词:

• 邮轮，人口背景，动机，意图，中国

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daisy X.F. Fan

Daisy X.F. Fan is a PhD Candidate in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Hanqin Qiu

Hanqin Qiu is Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Cathy H.C. Hsu

Cathy H. C. Hsu is Chair Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Marketing in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Zhaoping George Liu

Zhaoping George Liu is Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China (E-mail: [email protected]).