Tourist Behavior in the Cruise Industry Post-COVID-19: An Examination of Service Quality, Corporate Image, and Intentions to Pay and Revisit

Bodur S. Alonazi, Thowayeb H. Hassan (), Mostafa A. Abdelmoaty (), Amany E. Salem, Mahmoud I. Saleh, Mohamed Y. Helal, Yasser Ahmed Mohamed, Magdy Sayed Abuelnasr, Daniel Alemshet Gebreslassie, Mona Hamad Aleedan and Salaheldeen H. Radwan
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Bodur S. Alonazi: Social Studies Department, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Thowayeb H. Hassan: Social Studies Department, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Mostafa A. Abdelmoaty: StatisMed for Statistical Analysis Services, Giza 12573, Egypt
Amany E. Salem: Social Studies Department, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Mahmoud I. Saleh: Tourism Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo 12612, Egypt
Mohamed Y. Helal: General Management Department, Institute of Management, Economics, and Finance, Kazan Federal University, 420008 Kazan, Russia
Yasser Ahmed Mohamed: Social Studies Department, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Magdy Sayed Abuelnasr: Social Studies Department, College of Arts, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Daniel Alemshet Gebreslassie: Tourism Management Department, Archaeology and Tourism Institute, Aksum University, Axum 1010, Ethiopia
Mona Hamad Aleedan: Educational Leadership Department, Faculty of Education, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Salaheldeen H. Radwan: Tourism Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Helwan University, Cairo 12612, Egypt

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-21

Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak has had detrimental consequences on the cruise industry due to the suspension of commercial cruise trips, and these effects remain apparent in Saudi Arabia. The offered service quality (SQ) in the post-COVID-19 era seems to be a critical element for improving customer experiences and satisfaction, enhancing destination attractiveness, increasing revenue, and maintaining repeat business. The current study aimed to assess the impact of service quality on tourists’ satisfaction and corporate image as well as the intention to pay for cruise trips and revisit the destination among 315 tourists in Saudi Arabia. Service quality was measured using five subscales of the SERVQUAL scale, including reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Tourists’ satisfaction was significantly influenced by four domains of SQ, whereas the intention to pay more, intention to revisit the destination, and corporate image were significantly predicted by ≤3 domains of SQ. The study’s findings can help the cruise industry to improve its offerings and create more personalized and engaging experiences that meet the changing needs of customers in the recovery period after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Keywords: cruise; service quality; intention to revisit; satisfaction; perceived image (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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