Cruise passengers’ perception of port attributes and their influence on revisiting and recommending. Evidence from the Canary Islands

Abstract

This article aims to explore whether various attributes related to the Canary Islands’ ports of call and their differences from other ports of Europe and the world could influence a cruise passenger’s intention to revisit the island or recommend Canary Islands cruises through word-of-mouth to their professional and social networks. Information on cruise passengers’ perceptions was collected in each port of call via survey responses over several cruise seasons. The results indicate that a higher rating of the port services and infrastructure, organization and its information services upon the arrival of cruise passengers, positively and significantly influences both the probability of recommending a cruise to the Canary Islands and revisiting the destination in the future. These probabilities also increase when the ports of the Canary Islands receive higher ratings than those in the rest of the world. Enhancing these port-related attributes can increase the likelihood of cruise passengers returning, whether as traditional tourists or as repeat passengers. Moreover, identifying these key attributes is essential for gaining support from policymakers for designing more effective policies and conditions to attract the necessary investment.