Impacts Of Cruise Tourism In Emerging Asian Destination: Stakeholder Perspectives

Abstract

The cruise tourism industry presents significant potential for generating economic benefits in port destinations through expenditures by cruise operators, crew members, and passengers. However, the increasing dominance of large cruise vessels offering comprehensive onboard services raises concerns about the distribution of economic benefits, with cruise companies potentially capturing a greater share of passenger spending than local shore-based businesses. This study aims to investigate cruise tourism development and impacts in Malaysia from local businesses perspectives. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with local businesses explore perceptions of cruise tourism development and its impact. The impact of cruise tourism that was discussed, such as benefit the local economy, the emergence of new business, create job opportunity and promote Penang as a tourist destination. The findings reveal several critical factors influencing these impacts, including challenges in identifying cruise passengers, business location characteristics, tour guide influence, selective marketing practices, and transportation service availability. The study concludes that while cruise tourism offers substantial development opportunities for Malaysia, its sustainable growth requires careful planning strategies and robust impact measurement frameworks to maximize local economic benefits and mitigate potential negative consequences. These insights contribute to ongoing discussions about optimizing cruise tourism's value for destination communities while maintaining industry growth.