Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
retaining much of their value, meaning and significance from previous eras. In this
context, the experience of the coast, the beach, the resort and of the place are socially and
culturally conditioned. There is a continuity in the transmission and formation of values
of the beach and coast which may help to explain the ongoing love affair the
recreationalist and tourist has with such special 'places'. In historical terms, the resort
morphology, rules, meanings and behaviour embodied in the coastal environment have
changed in line with what society will tolerate, condone and legitimate. But these special,
highly valued, natural and human-made environments remain central to the recreational
and tourist experience of leisure places and space. For most social groups, the coastline is
a social leveller, a free resource to be enjoyed and consumed according to the vagaries of
the season and weather.
INSIGHT: Cruise tourism
Cruise tourism has become significant for a number of ports because cruise tourists are
higher yield tourists, spending, on average, much higher amounts per day than other
categories of international tourists (Dwyer and Forsyth 1996,1998; Ritter and Schafer
1999; Kester 2003). In 2000 worldwide cruise passenger volumes reached 10.4 million
(up from 8.4 million in 1998) and in North America reached 6.9 million in 2000 up from
5.5 million in 1998 (Environmental Planning Group of Canada (EPGC) 2002; Economic
Development and Tourism Department (EDTD) 2003). Interestingly, the North American
cruise ship industry was not negatively affected by terrorism concerns, registering 7.2 per
cent growth to 7.4 million passengers in 2002 (EDTD 2003). There is substantial
competition for the cruise ship market in various parts of the world, particularly because
it tends to be highly seasonal in nature. For example, in the summer of 2001 48 per cent
of visitors to Alaska arrived by cruise ship (49 per cent by air). In comparison about 7 per
cent of visitors to Newfoundland in 2001 were cruise visitors (EPGC 2002).
In a study of cruise tourism in Australia, Dwyer and Forsyth (1996) reported that
home-porting cruise ships in Australia, with a marketing emphasis on fly-cruise packages
for inbound tourists, had the greatest potential for generating large expenditure inflows to
Australia. In addition, they reported that because of leakages due to foreign ownership
and foreign sourcing of inputs, the average expenditure per passenger per cruise injected
into the Australian economy is twice as great for the coastal as opposed to the
international cruise.
Because of the overall growth in the cruise ship market, partly allied to ageing
populations in developed countries, greater numbers of retirees and security concerns, a
number of coastal destinations are aggressively competing for cruise ship visitation. For
example, in the case of Newfoundland, 'Cruise was seen as having long-term growth
potential, and is appealing since cruise visitors return for conventional vacations' (EPGC
2002:49). However, in an evaluation of potential activity markets, 'The cruise potential
rated lowest as it is the cruise lines, not the destination, that develops the market,
although the cruise lines like to see marketing support for their efforts, particularly
destination awareness marketing support' (EPGC 2002:60). Nevertheless, the provincial
capital, the City of St John's, has placed substantial emphasis on developing the cruise
market and has developed a public-private partnership in order to attract more cruise
ships. Traditionally, cruise lines utilised St John's as a stopover port of call for their small
to mid sized vessels
However
since the late 1990s the economic value of the cruise
