Cruise Tourism and its Impact on a Destination using the example of the Caribbean Islands

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Tourism, grade: 1,9, University of Applied Sciences Saarbrucken (Wirtschaftswissenschaften), language: English, abstract: This thesis outlines the impacts of cruise tourism on the Caribbean islands and looks closer on the relationship between cruise lines and the ports of call in the Caribbean. Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing branches of the tourism industry with the Caribbean islands as the most demanded and frequented region. The Caribbean stands out in the mass of cruise destinations as it offers the stereotyped perception of paradise. However the islands among themselves don’t distinguish much in terms of their primary offer which is mainly composed of sun, sand and sea. Many islands see the ultimate key to success in cruise tourism and make themselves dependent on the global players of the cruise industry and hereby suppress to take care of other sectors like health and education. Many ports fear to be cut off of the cruise lines’ itineraries if not meeting the passengers’ expectations. What also contributes to this fear is the development of cruise ships into independent destinations themselves offering a large range of services and attractions. Destinations fight at any price for cruise lines to berth at their ports, sometimes becom-ing even uneconomic as their expenses exceed their income. It is clear that cruise lines and ports need to work together in order to gain an advantage from the existence of cruise tourism.