Cruise industry falls under the tourism sector and is one of the areas where growth has been encountered over the years. Cruise tourists spend their nights in the sea whereas the land-based ones remain on land at night. To become competitive, cruise industry has undergone various transformations. First, the industry is characterized by diversification of their products.
This is opposed to the prior periods when the industry was only engaging in the carrying of the tourist in the sea. Today, the cruise ships provide accommodation services, snacks and other services that are aimed at increasing the loyalty of their customers.
This has enabled cruise industry to expand and increase their market share as opposed to the earlier period when land based resort controlled almost 90% of the market. Another reason why cruise industry has become more competitive is the entry of many ships in the provision of services to their customers.
There are three major cruises: the princess cruises, royal Caribbean international and the carnival cruises. There were also smaller cruise ships, which made the industry quite competitive. With competition, the end consumers get to have better and quality services at a low cost compared to the land-based tourism.
This made many land-based resorts realize a decline in their customer base when substantial number of tourists shifted to the cruise section.
Moreover, the industry became more competitive because of charging one price on their customers. That cost included those for their food, accommodation, and entertainment. That made it relatively cheap compared to the land-based cruise where all the elements of cost were to be footed differently.
The lower tax percentage levied on the cruise tourists further made the industry preferred by the customers hence becoming more competitive in the industry. Families and individuals who went to tour the Caribbean began to choose the cruise industry, as the economic times were also difficult following the recession period.
To gain the market share cruise companies have formulated strategies that were aimed at attracting more tourists to the cruise section. The companies’ provision of unique services was a way of increasing and retaining the cruise tourist.
The services of cruise companies were customized to make the tourist have fun. For example, the management of Carnival introduced brands that favored the interest of short vacationers and those that needed luxury making it enjoy market lead.
Another measure that was taken by the companies was to increase the capacities of the cruise ships. That was the only way to sustain the soaring market and to avoid shortages or congestion that could lead to customer dissatisfaction.
The companies as well introduced both large and small cruise ships that could meet the tailored demands of their customers making the industry realize market growth. In addition, the cruise companies engaged in intensified advertising campaigns that were geared towards creating awareness and promoting their services to their potential customers.
It was during that time that the companies held longer television shows to advertise and market their services. The companies also provided trips for short distances to meet the demands of the younger population who could not afford more expensive journey.
All these were designed to attract more consumers of their services. The segmentation of the market by cruise companies also ensured all customers with different preferences are satisfied making them increase their market share.
In highly competitive sectors like tourism that is characterized by fast changing consumer preferences, companies must brand their services and products in order to survive. Competition makes customers get efficient services at reduced cost.