Understanding the Cruise Industry’s Responses to Health-Related Crises: A Case Study Approach

Abstract

The cruise industry is one of the fastest growing sectors within the tourism and hospitality industry (WTO, 2010). In spite of the increasing popularity, there has been a continued interest in traveling albeit an increased exposure to various types of health risks, such as seasickness, nausea, and foodborne disease (CDC, 2014). Oftentimes these health risks can develop into health-related crises to which both passengers and crew members are vulnerable (Henderson, 2007). The outbreak of health-related crises can exert epidemic effects on the cruise industry and therefore have catastrophic impacts (CLIA, 2014). The direct outcome normally manifests itself as damage to personal health and well-being of the traveler; while indirect outcome can take the form of customer dissatisfaction, impaired brand images of cruise lines, and distorted images of destinations (CDC, 2014; Crimson Hexagon, 2013). To cope with these challenges, scholars have highlighted the importance of crisis management practices as well as effective crisis responses (Coombs, 2014; Ritchie, 2008).