Exploring motivation via three-stage travel experience: how to capture the hearts of Taiwanese family-oriented cruise tourists

The global tourism industry experienced significant growth before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan, being a major contributor. The cruise industry played a vital role in this growth, but the pandemic severely impacted the sector. To recover, the industry needs to understand traveler motivations and demands, particularly within the family travel market, a segment with significant growth potential as birth rates decline. Family travel offers opportunities to enhance family life, and cruises provide a convenient and all-inclusive vacation option. While research on cruise tourism exists in Western countries, research on family cruise experiences in the East, especially concerning children's perspectives and cultural nuances, is relatively scarce. This study aims to address this gap by investigating Taiwanese families' cruise travel experiences through a three-stage model (anticipation, participation, recall), considering the family as a complex system (systems theory) and the various factors influencing decision-making and overall satisfaction.

The literature review covers several key areas: revenge travel and its impact on the cruise industry's recovery post-pandemic; motivations for family travel, including the push-pull factors and the evolving role of children in family decision-making; and the different stages of travel experience, highlighting the importance of considering pre-travel expectations, the on-site experience, and post-travel recall in shaping overall satisfaction and repeat visitation. The review also notes a scarcity of research specifically focusing on family cruise travel experiences in the East Asian market, particularly considering the unique perspectives of children and the cultural context.

This study employed a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews with 13 Taiwanese families who had taken cruises with children. The interview questionnaire, designed based on prior research and refined through expert review (four experts: a cruise tourism consultant, a travel agent, and two tourism scholars), covered three stages of the cruise experience: anticipation, participation, and recall. Participants were recruited through various channels including referrals from tour guides, Facebook groups, and snowball sampling. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts, with inter-rater and intra-rater reliability tests conducted to ensure the rigor of the analysis. The study also uses quantitative data to support some of the findings, but the focus is on the qualitative findings.

The study's key findings are organized around the three stages of the cruise experience: **Anticipation Stage:** Motivations for choosing a cruise included new experiences, convenience, fulfilling a desire for cruise travel, and generating social topics. The most important factors influencing cruise selection were itinerary (port of call and destination), followed by price, travel days, cruise brand, equipment, activities, reviews, family members' desires, and travel agencies. **Participation Stage:** Factors considered during the cruise experience included ship tonnage, cabin size and amenities (balconies were highly desired), dining options (Chinese food was preferred), facilities (pools, courts, entertainment), children's activities, and overall service quality. Families prioritized activities suitable for all age groups and valued the convenience of an all-inclusive experience. **Recall Stage:** Similar to the anticipation stage, itinerary was the most important factor influencing the decision to take another cruise. Other important factors included travel days, cruise brand, price, equipment, family members' travel desire, activities, reviews, and travel agencies. Food quality emerged as a significant factor during the recall phase. Demographic data revealed that the majority of interviewees were middle-aged parents with a high level of income and education, mostly from nuclear families. Destinations were primarily in Northeast Asia, and the majority of families had taken one or more cruises before.

The findings highlight the importance of itinerary in both the planning and recall stages, suggesting that cruise companies should focus on developing attractive itineraries with diverse and appealing destinations. The emphasis on children's activities and amenities in the participation stage underscores the need for family-friendly offerings. The desire for convenience and an all-inclusive experience emphasizes the importance of clearly communicating what's included in the cruise packages. The findings also suggest differences in the values placed on factors during different stages of the journey, informing targeted marketing and service delivery strategies. The relatively limited emphasis on socialization in this research, compared to the literature, suggests that family interaction during the cruise experience is more highly valued than making new friends.

This study provides valuable insights into the motivations and experiences of Taiwanese families who take cruises. The three-stage model offers a comprehensive understanding of the decision-making process, from initial planning to post-trip reflection. Key findings emphasize the importance of itinerary, children's activities, and overall convenience in attracting family cruise travelers. Future research could involve a larger, more diverse sample, including children's direct input and a comparison of Taiwanese family cruise experiences with those of other Asian countries. The study's limitations highlight the need for further investigation, perhaps employing diverse methodologies to enhance the generalizability of findings.

The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size (13 families), the use of a single interviewee per family potentially limiting the capture of diverse perspectives within each family, and the difficulty of obtaining direct input from children. The snowball sampling method might have introduced bias, and some participants may have had difficulties recalling details accurately. The focus on a single cultural context limits the generalizability of the findings.