What Motivates Luxury Cruise Passengers?

Abstract

Given the lack of empirical research in explicating luxury cruises and travellers' motivations, the present study adds knowledge to the industry by examining cruise passengers' profiles and reasons for taking a cruise in Greece. This study offers insights into the motivations of 456 tourists who travelled to Greece for a delightful cruise experience. The population of this research consisted of passengers who disembarked at the Port of Piraeus after an 8-day cruise in the Aegean Sea. The findings pointed out that the motivation dimensions of cruise passengers are structured along three significant factors, "escape and relaxation," "culture and tradition", and "enjoyment and shopping," with the initial one being the most important. In addition, the hierarchical cluster analysis identified three clusters and the k-means cluster analysis determined the association of each member to the cluster. Finally, essential policy recommendations are given to all relevant stakeholders.