Sustainable Cruise Tourism: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Areas

Ignat Kulkov (), Magnus Hellström, Anastasia Tsvetkova and Johan Malmberg
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Ignat Kulkov: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
Magnus Hellström: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
Anastasia Tsvetkova: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland
Johan Malmberg: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20500 Turku, Finland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: The cruise shipping industry has existed for centuries. However, sustainability is a relatively new trend that could make a big difference and someday impact the industry. A growing body of research on sustainable cruise tourism includes studying changes among industry stakeholders, internal and external processes, and more. However, until now, there have been no comprehensive and systematic reviews of the academic literature on this topic and proposals for future research areas. The sample for our research consists of 56 articles structured into the following themes and subthemes: (1) corporate social responsibility (public interaction and emissions management); (2) territory management (collaboration with stakeholders and infrastructure development); (3) training in sustainable behavior (passengers, ship personnel, and other stakeholders). These themes fully explore the various use cases for sustainable cruises, forming a conceptual framework for understanding trends for the industry’s sustainable development. We direct the attention of other researchers to the following areas for further research: GHG emissions of cruising; biodiversity impacts; quantitative understanding of the target audience and their participation in sustainability financing; in-depth understanding of the reasons for cooperation between stakeholders; identifying the true motivation for participation in sustainable development; the long-term trends; and how the shipping industry is adapting to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: literature review; sustainability; cruise tourism; corporate social responsibility; territory management; training (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 (3)

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