Motivation-based segmentation in the cruise industry: an exploratory study

Despite its practical relevance, motivation to cruise in tourism and transport literature still appears under-explored. Therefore, this manuscript aims to advance knowledge on motivation to cruise, by proposing a cruising motivation measurement scale and suggesting a motivation-based market segmentation. By administering an on-line structured questionnaire, the paper explores the motivations of 575 actual and potential cruisers from multiple regions. In particular, we perform an exploratory factor analysis to determine the key dimensions of motivations to cruise and run a hierarchical cluster analysis, to provide a motivation-based segmentation of sample individuals. The outcomes identify a cruising motivation measurement scale that can support cruise lines in defining conscious and tailor-made segmentation strategies and targeting untapped markets. Finally, the motivation-based segmentation is tested by scrutinizing the profile of the respondents belonging to each cluster.