Evaluating and Categorizing Cruise Lines by ship attributes: A Comparison Between Cruisers and Experts

Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) is an important information source used by consumers to make travel decisions. However, eWOM from travel experts and everyday travelers can be inconsistent, potentially leading to blurred product evaluations and market positioning. This paper examines this issue in the context of the cruise industry with the goal of identifying differences in the evaluation of cruise brands by cruise experts and consumers, as well as the product factors that influence these judgements. The research used a data-driven empirical approach and secondary data from a leading cruise review site consisting of scaled ratings across 9 ship attributes and 24 brands by more than 150,000 cruisers and 174 experts. Data analysis using the TOPSIS method and regression and multigroup models shows that experts and cruisers evaluate cruise brands differently and are influenced by different ship attributes when forming evaluations. For example, value-add attributes (e.g., service, enrichment activities, fitness/recreation) significantly influence overall evaluations for cruisers, while core attributes (e.g., cabin, dining, entertainment) significantly influence overall evaluations for experts. Discussion of the empirical results highlights these differences in cruiser vs. expert perceptions as revealed online, as well as the need to update traditional cruise industry categorization to optimize brand positioning and better align product-marketing strategies for effective target marketing.     

当“灰犀牛”遇到“黑天鹅”——网民对邮轮旅游负面事件的风险感知变化

邮轮旅游因其内在脆弱属性,一直受到各类负面事件的影响。2020年初“钻石公主号”邮轮的新冠疫情跨境蔓延引起全球网络关注,极大地影响了公众对邮轮旅游的风险感知及消费决策。本文以知乎网站评论为数据来源,将疫情发生和全球邮轮停运为时间节点,把邮轮负面事件划分为3个阶段,运用词频分析、语义网络分析、情感分析结合空间分析等方法,探究中国网民的风险感知变化。研究发现: “灰犀牛阶段”,邮轮正常运营,网民风险感知聚焦于自然灾害和救援开展;新冠疫情初发时的“灰犀牛遇到黑天鹅阶段”,邮轮逐渐停航,网民风险感知聚焦于邮轮公共卫生安全;疫情全面爆发后的“黑天鹅阶段”,邮轮全面停航,网民风险感知包括自然灾害、火灾、疫情等多个方面,感知内容趋向分散。同时,网民的风险感知空间分布存在差异,沿海地区网民对邮轮负面事件多以正面和微弱负面情绪为主;但内陆地区网民因对邮轮旅游了解程度相对较低,其感知负面居多。当前,新冠疫情仍在全球蔓延,研究内容可为邮轮旅游的疫后市场恢复和可持续发展提供参考。     

Perceptions of cruise travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: Market recovery strategies for cruise businesses in North America

The study aims to identify consumer perceptions of the cruise industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to provide market recovery strategies for cruise businesses. The relationship between perceptions among cruise experience and COVID-19 financial status groups were explored. The results of analyses of data from 759 respondents indicated that travel constraints negatively influence behavioral intention through negativity bias. Further, perceived crisis management positively affects behavioral intention through attitude-trust. New consumers’ behavioral intention is significantly affected by the negativity bias, and the perceived crisis management manipulates the trust of financial-affected consumers.     

How do foreigners perceive? Exploring foreign diners’ satisfaction with service quality of Chinese restaurants

China has received 138 million inbound trips in 2016. The purpose of travel may vary but these international travelers visit Chinese restaurants as an integral part of their travel experience. Our study tries to comprehend their dining experience and regional differences in service quality (SQ) perceptions. The findings indicate that food and process quality significantly influence satisfaction and behavioral intentions. More importantly, the results reveal that international travelers roving through all the six continents hold significantly different perceptions regarding SQ attributes of Chinese restaurants. Additionally, we found proficiency in Chinese language as a significant contributor in generating dissimilar perceptions.     

Breaking barriers for Bangladeshi female solo travelers

Asian Muslim women's travel habits are sorely under-researched. In response to various calls for research in this area, this study utilizes Hofstede's five cultural dimensions to determine how Bangladeshi cultural values inhibit and/or enhance travel constraints for solo Muslim female travelers and the subsequent effects on solo travel behavior. We propose solo travel as a strategic tourism development tool to achieve mobility rights and gender equality particularly for destinations that are highly populated with more women than men. Introducing an interpretivist qualitative approach, the study extracted both survey and open-ended responses from 307 frequent Bangladeshi solo travelers that were recruited from a women-only English-speaking Facebook Bangladeshi travel group. The findings reveal that this group is constrained by a unique combination of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural factors. Power-distance, masculinity, and uncertainty-avoidance also play key roles. Sustainable and practical applications are outlined for destination management organizations, travel planners, policy makers, non-governmental organizations, and for-profit tour companies that benefit both Bangladeshi solo female travelers and those with whom they interact.     

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travelers’ preference for crowded versus non-crowded options

Crowding is a critical determinant of consumers' satisfaction with and preferences for different shopping and travel situations. When considering a selection of travel and hospitality options, travelers are influenced by perceived crowding. This research examined how the current health crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) affects travelers’ preferences for crowded and non-crowded options. Specifically, we predicted that travelers would have a diminished preference for crowded (vs. non-crowded) travel and hospitality options when the ongoing pandemic is salient. We demonstrated that the primary effect of the salience of the threat was persistent across different travel categories and contexts. We also found that travelers with high levels of sensation seeking and a high need for uniqueness show the opposite pattern, suggesting a possible recovery strategy from the pandemic. Five experimental studies provide several theoretical and managerial implications for travel and hospitality business marketers.     

Attributes that influence the evaluation of travel dining experience: When East meets West

Many destination marketers have utilized gastronomy as a source of new products and activities to attract tourists. Despite the substantial rise in the Chinese outbound market, very little is known about how Chinese tourists evaluate their travel dining experiences. By using narrative analysis, this study examines attributes that may affect Chinese tourists' evaluation of their travel dining experiences. On-site participant observation and focus group interviews were conducted, respectively, with Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong group tourists, while they were on holiday in Australia. A total of 15 attributes were identified, which were classified under the following six categories: tourists' own food culture, the contextual factor of the dining experience, variety and diversity of food, perception of the destination, service encounter, and tour guide's performance. The respective implications of the attributes on travel dining experience are also discussed.     

Information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound travelers‐a comparison of business and leisure travelers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound tourists, in particular business and leisure travelers. The study clearly shows that business and leisure travelers demonstrate different information search behavior. ‘Personal experience,’ ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Airlines’ and the ‘Internet’ are most frequently relied upon by business travelers in searching for travel information, while leisure travelers prefer ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ The study also reveals that the total number of information sources used and the length of pre‐trip planning lead‐time are significantly different between these two groups of travelers. First time travelers also have a longer pre‐trip planning lead‐time than repeat travelers. Furthermore, business and leisure travelers perceive the levels of influence of several information sources, including ‘Corporate travel departments,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and the ‘Internet,’ differently. These information sources were classified into five different dimensions, including ‘Media,’ ‘Neutral,’ ‘Retail,’ ‘Interpersonal,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ Analysis based on travelers' purpose for traveling and demographic information was performed. Leisure travelers perceive the level of influence of ‘Neutral’ sources as significantly higher, and those with lower household incomes perceived the level of influence of ‘Personal experience’ as lower. The results of this study will allow marketers in Hong Kong to better understand travelers’ information search behavior so that they can more effectively tailor their marketing strategies to these two major markets.     

The socially distant servicescape: An investigation of consumer preference’s during the re-opening phase

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic restaurant operators had to close their dining rooms for dine-in service for a number of weeks; however, once they were allowed to re-open concern still existed over safety and socially distancing many operators had to get creative in ensuring guest and worker safety. The current study sought to assess consumer perceptions and preferences regarding different types of dining room setups that were implemented by restaurants around the U.S. during the re-opening phase to ensure proper social distancing amongst guests. A quasi-experimental design was implemented where respondents were shown images of two different dining-room setups and provided responses to questions based on their perceptions and preferences for these socially distant servicescapes. Overall, respondents indicated that partitions between tables were preferred to mannequins being placed at tables. Academic and practical implications are discussed.     

Do you dare to travel to China? An examination of China's destination image amid the COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 on destination image is critical for international tourism recovery. This study is conducted focusing on China, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with mixed methods. Drawing on survey data collected from 500 US travelers, the study first examines China's destination image perceptions and travel intention. The results reveal that (1) US respondents have low travel intentions to China amid the pandemic; (2) Destination safety and security is the most influential image factor that leads to the low travel intentions to China. News media is proposed to have significant influence on China's image formation due to the COVID-19. A simple content analysis is conducted on CNN's news and China is found to be tied closely with COVID-19 and most news articles are emotionally negative. Those respondents who follow news outlet websites for COVID-19 view China more negatively and have lower travel intentions.     

Can staying overnight affect traveler satisfaction? Evidence from a gambling destination

Given that satisfied travelers tend to become repeat customers and spread positive word of mouth, destinations must induce travel satisfaction to increase their income. Travelers may face increasing physical and mental challenges during their travel that can undermine their travel experience, and staying overnight in a destination can improve the satisfaction of travelers by refreshing their energy. Given its important role in increasing the revenues of certain destinations such as Macau, staying overnight is strongly encouraged among travelers. However, the relationship between staying overnight and traveler satisfaction in the casino context has never been studied. By conducting a survey among 17,742 travelers in Macau, this study explores the moderating effect of staying overnight on the relationship between travel experience and satisfaction. The results indicate that staying overnight strengthens (reduces) the negative effect of visiting frequency (outside-Macau casino experience). However, staying overnight has no moderating effect on such relationship when the negative influence of first-time visit is considered. These findings also provide implications for tourism researchers and practitioners.     

The choice between business travel and video conferencing after COVID-19 – Insights from a choice experiment among frequent travelers

COVID-19 has accelerated the substitution of videoconferencing for business travel. However, little research exists about the decision-making behavior of business travelers considering virtual alternatives. We fill this gap by reconceptualizing the decision-making process and investigating the fundamental choice between face-to-face (FtF) and virtual communication (VC) using an adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis. We argue that the process of decision making of business travelers is distinct to that of leisure travelers, as the fundamental decision between FtF and VC occurs prior to subsequent travel decisions. We show that the purpose of the meeting, the character of the message, and the location of the meeting are the decision attributes of greatest importance. Using a novel methodology we present a holistic decision model that increases the theoretical understanding of business traveler decision-making and provide practitioners with comprehensive insights relevant to travel policy development, and executives in the business travel market with guidance with management decisions.     

Analysis of Korean millennials’ travel expenditure patterns: an almost ideal demand system approach

ABSTRACT

Generational cohorts can differ in their consumption patterns and preferred travel behavior. As the millennial generation represents an important economic force and influences new consumption trends, this study utilizes nationwide data and almost ideal demand system (AIDS) approach to examine expenditure patterns of Korean travelers during holidays. In this process, the joint effects of travel-related characteristics are also examined. The results of the AIDS estimation on data from 871 domestic travelers reveal significantly different travel expenditure patterns for cohorts. The findings contribute to furthering the understanding of how different generational cohorts allocate their travel budgets to respective travel expenditure categories.     

Exploring Tourist Perceived Value: An Investigation of Asian Cruise Tourists' Travel Experience

The present study explores Asian cruise travelers' perceived value of the travel experience and the effect of perceived value on satisfaction and behavioral intention. To measure Asian travelers' multi-dimensional perceived value, a cognitive-affective perceived value model was utilized. Survey items were adapted from cruise travel attribute items and SERV-PERVAL scales. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify travelers' cognitive and affective perceived value. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted in order for researchers to examine how tourists' multi-dimensional perceived value construct affected travelers' satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Statistical results showed that Asian cruise travelers have four sub-dimensions of cognitive perceived value: “facility,” “food & beverage (F&B),” “entertainment,” and “staff.” Affective perceived value was measured by emotional response measurement items. The current study indicated travelers' perceived value of the cruise experience affects travel satisfaction and travelers' behavioral intention.     

BayesRec: Personalize search ranking with customer attribute-level willingness-to-pay using heterogeneous booking choice data

The ongoing travel restrictions owing to the COVID-19 shutdown continue to impact the hospitality sector. This pause on travel has led to a bigger regime shift in the customer's preferences for hotel selection. Therefore, this study aims to help understand customers’ evolving preferences by assessing the customers’ attribute-level willingness-to-pay (WTP) to tailor the booking experience. Furthermore, the study accounts for customers’ behavioral heterogeneity and decision choices while estimating WTP. The proposed approach utilizes multi-stage online modeling: (i) Segmentation to create behavioral customer cohorts; (ii) Hierarchical Bayesian modeling to estimate customer-level WTP; and (iii) Multi-criteria decision optimization to rank-optimize the hotel alternatives by leveraging the assessed attribute-level WTP. This continuous assessment provides personalized hotel recommendations and enhances customer’s booking experience, thereby allowing hotels to accelerate revenue recovery and aid in proactive demand generation for the next wave of travelers in a post-COVID economy.     

Comparative study of deep learning models for analyzing online restaurant reviews in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Online reviews remain important during the COVID-19 pandemic as they help customers make safe dining decisions. To help restaurants better understand customers’ needs and sustain their business under current circumstance, this study extracts restaurant features that are cared for by customers in current circumstance. This study also introduces deep learning methods to examine customers’ opinions about restaurant features and to detect reviews with mismatched ratings. By analyzing 112,412 restaurant reviews posted during January-June 2020 on Yelp.com, four frequently mentioned restaurant features (e.g., service, food, place, and experience) along with their associated sentiment scores were identified. Findings also show that deep learning algorithms (i.e., Bidirectional LSTM and Simple Embedding + Average Pooling) outperform traditional machine learning algorithms in sentiment classification and review rating prediction. This study strengthens the extant literature by empirically analyzing restaurant reviews posted during the COVID-19 pandemic and discovering suitable deep learning algorithms for different text mining tasks.     

Uncertainty risks and strategic reaction of restaurant firms amid COVID-19: Evidence from China

To contain the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19), social distancing, self-isolation and travel restrictions have been imposed globally. To shed light on how COVID-19 is affecting restaurant industry, this study aims to explore the factors that affect restaurant firms’ financial turnaround for their sustainability after the business shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing a total of 86,507 small- and medium-sized restaurant firms’ sales data collected from nine cities in Mainland China, the exploratory approach of this study successfully determines positive impacts of three aspects of operational characteristics (i.e., delivery, discounts, and service type) and brand effects as uncertainty minimizing factors amid distinctive business shutdowns and restrictions. This is the first empirical study in the management realm on the impacts of COVID-19 on restaurant industry. This paper strengthens the extant literature by highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry after the business restrictions are lifted.     

Impacts of COVID-19 on global tourism industry: A cross-regional comparison

The tourism industry was one of the world's greatest markets; until the world met a pandemic in the 21st century, COVID-19. This study aims to present the reactions of travelers during the pandemic trends outlined by adopting text mining techniques. Between December 30, 2019–March 15, 2020, approximately 75,000 comments are retrieved from the TripAdvisor forums, and 23,515 cases from the US, Europe, and Asia forums are employed for analyses.The results reveal that the tourism sector is easily affected by global crises. It is almost the same day that travelers decide to cancel or delay their trips, with the spread of the news. More in-depth analyses uncovered several topics consisted of comments on benefiting from travel insurance and refund due to the travel cancellations. Travel insurance has become a hot topic, which may be a way of reanimating the industry by offering travel packages, including travel insurance services.     

Japanese female travelers ‐ a unique outbound market

The rapid growth of Japanese female travelers underscores the importance of understanding the market. Focusing on the differences between the Japanese female and male travelers on their travel attitudes, motivations, trip‐related attributes, and socio‐demographic characteristics, this paper provides empirical evidence that gender is a viable characteristic that can used in marketing activities targeted at the Japanese market. The study findings indicate that the female and male segments of Japanese outbound travelers are significantly differentiated in fifteen out of twenty‐two factors of travel attitudes and motivations. The two segments also differ in a number of trip attributes and socio‐demographic characteristics. Therefore, Japanese female travelers constitute a unique outbound market.