The two market leaders in ocean cruising and corporate sustainability

Peter Jones, David Hillier, Daphne Comfort
2017 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management  
Purpose -This practice paper provides a commentary on the sustainability reports published by the two market leaders in ocean cruising industry Design/Methodology/Approach -The paper opens with brief reviews of the growing interest in the commitment to corporate sustainability and of the growth and market structure of the ocean cruising industry by way of setting the context for the commentary. This commentary is based on a review of the most recently published sustainability reports from the
more » ... o leading ocean cruising companies which account for almost 75% of total industry revenues. Findings -The paper reveals that the two major ocean cruising companies, namely Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises, produced wide ranging sustainability reports covering a number of environmental, social, economic and governance issues. By way of contrast many of the other major ocean cruising companies published limited information on their approach to sustainability on their corporate websites and some posted no sustainability information. However the authors suggest that given that the two major cruising companies account for 70% of ocean cruising passengers the industry compares favourably in its sustainability reporting with other players in the hospitality industry and the service sector. That said the authors also suggest that the current approaches to sustainability within the cruising industry, which are based on continuing growth, present testing management challenges for the leading cruising companies. Originality/Value -The paper offers a commentary on current approaches to sustainability in the ocean cruising industry and as such it will interest professionals the ocean cruising industry and employees working in the hospitality industry as well as researchers, teaching staff and students in hospitality management and sustainability.
doi:10.1108/ijchm-04-2016-0191 fatcat:dilggg2fsbbltp76w5yj44rxgm