COVID-19 Anchor for Cruise Tourism. An analysis of Gdańsk’s and Gdynia's Cruise Tourism in the 2017-2020 Period
Abstract
In many Member States, European regions and cities, tourism is a key factor in the economic and social structure. The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020 caused significant losses in the tourism sector area in all European Union (EU) countries. This applies in particular to one of the elements of the tourism sector of any economy with access to the sea - the possibility of accepting cruise ships. This cruise tourism sector has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aim of this paper is to estimate the number of selected expenditures of passengers and cruise ship crews entering the ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia, which are a source of revenue for the region, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on limiting the growth of this tourism segment. Our study takes a holistic approach by estimating the amount of revenue generated by tourists arriving in the two ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk capable of handling large cruise ships. Based on the number of arriving tourists in 2017-2020, the study estimates the income of tourism enterprises that receive a direct cash inflow from offering services to arriving tourists.
The tourism sector that was particularly affected by the pandemic was cruise tourism. In 2020, this sector recorded an over 5-fold decrease in the number of cruise ship passengers. The conclusions of the study show that the number of cruise ships arriving in the analysed ports in 2020 decreased significantly compared to the previous year, similarly to other ports in the region. At the same time, the number of passengers visiting the analysed ports decreased substantially. Nevertheless, the dynamic growth of cruise tourism in the Baltic Sea basin, which began before the COVID-19 pandemic, allows for conclusions about further development of this tourism segment and its potential impact on the region’s economy after the crisis which occurred in 2020.
References
[2] Brida, J.G., and Zapata, S. 2010. Cruise tourism: economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, 1(3): 205-226. DOI: 10.1504/IJLTM.2010.029585
[3] Carić, H. and Mackelworth, P. 2014. Cruise tourism environmental impacts. The perspective from the Adriatic Sea. Ocean & Coastal Management, 102: 350-363. DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.09.008
[4] Dwyer, L.and Forsyth, P. 1998. Economic Significance of Cruise Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 25(2): 393-415. DOI:10.1016/S0160-7383(97)00098-4
[5] Gaworecki, W. 2007. Turystyka, Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne (in Polish).
[6] Gostomski, E. and Nowosielski, T. 2019. Rozwój turystyki międzynarodowej i morskiej. Aspekty ekonomiczne, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego (in Polish).
[7] Gouveia, A.X. S., and Eusebio, C. 2019. Assessing the direct economic value of cruise tourism in a port of call: The case of Funchal on the island of Madeira. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 19(4): 422–438. DOI:10.1177/1467358418768666
[8] International Transport Forum 2017. Cruise Shipping and Urban Development. The Case of Piraeus. Available at: https://www.itf-oecd.org/cruise-shipping-and-urban-development-case-piraeus
[9] Kovačić, M. and Silveira, L. 2020. Cruise tourism: Implications and impacts on the destinations of Croatia and Portugal. Scientific Journal of Maritime Research, 34: 40-47. DOI: 10.31217/p.34.1.5
[10] Palmowski, T. and Korneevets, V.S. 2018. Cruising ships in the ports of Gdynia and Gdansk. Economic Problems of Tourism, 43(3): 95-104. DOI: 10.18276/ept.2018.3.43-09
[11] Pasgaard, M., Fold, N., Meilby, H. and Kalvig, P. 2021. Reviewing tourism and natural resource research in the Arctic: towards a local understanding of sustainable tourism in the case of South Greenland. Geografisk Tidsskrift, 121(1): 15-29. DOI: 10.1080/00167223.2020.1869574
[12] Quan-Novelo, A., Santoya, J. and Vellos, R. 2007. Assessing the Direct Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism on the Belizean Economy. Central Bank of Belize. Available at: https://www.centralbank.org.bz
[13] Rodrigues da Silva, A. L. 2021. An overview of the impact of COVID-19 on the cruise industry with considerations for Florida. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 10(100391). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2021.100391
[14] Śledzik, K., Płoska, R., Chmielewski, M. and Barembruch, A. 2021. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 12(6): 1676-1686. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14505//jemt.v12.6(54).23
[15] Trancoso Gonzales, A. 2018. Venice: the problem of overtourism and the impact of cruises. Journal of Regional Research, 42: 35-51. Available at: https://investigacionesregionales.org/es/article/venice-the-problem-of-overtourism-and-the-impact-of-cruises/
[16] Urbanyi-Popiołek, I. 2020. Maritime tourism in the time of Covid-19 pandemic in Baltic Sea Regions – challenges for ferry and cruise operators [in] Burilovic, L., Rados, T. and Recker, N. (eds.). Economic and Social Development. 63rd International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – "Building Resilient Society": 397-405. Available at: https://www.esd-conference.com/upload/book_of_proceedings/Book_of_Proceedings_esdZagreb2020_Online.pdf
[17] Vayá, E., et al. 2016. Economic Impact of Cruise Activity: The Port of Barcelona. Institut de Recerca en Economia Aplicada Regional i Pública. Grup de Recerca Anàlisi Quantitativa Regional. Working Paper 2016/13. Available at: https://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2016/201613.pdf
[18] CLIA 2013. Contribution of Cruise Tourism to the Economies of Europe 2013 Edition. Available at: https://www.senato.it/application/xmanager/projects/leg17/attachments/documento_evento_procedura_commissione/files/000/000/632/Documentazione_Clia_Europe.pdf
[19] CLIA 2019. The Economic Contribution of the International Cruise Industry Globally in 2019. Available at: https://cruising.org/en-gb/news-and-research/research/2021/february/the-economic-contribution-of-the-international-cruise-industry-globally-in-2019
[20] CLIA 2020. State of the Cruise Industry Outlook. Cruise Lines International Association. Available at: https://cruising.org/en-gb/news-and-research/research/2019/december/state-of-the-cruise-industry-outlook-2020
[21] CLIA 2021. State of the Cruise Industry Outlook. Cruise Lines International Association. Available at: https://cruising.org/en-gb/news-and-research/research/2020/december/state-of-the-cruise-industry-outlook-2021
[22] European Commission 2021. European Regional Competitiveness Index. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/maps/regional_competitiveness/
[23] Eurostat 2021b. Newsrelease – euroindicators. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/portlet_file_entry/2995521/2-02022021-AP-EN.pdf/0e84de9c-0462-6868-df3e-dbacaad9f49f
[24] Eurostat. 2021a. Key figures on European business — 2021 edition. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-books/-/ks-ei-21-001
[25] Miami Herald 2020. Cruise ships sailed on despite the coronavirus. Thousands of people paid the price. Available at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241640166.html
[26] Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology 2021. Podstawowe dane statystyczne – turystyka w roku 2020 i ich zmiana w porównaniu do roku poprzedniego.
[27] Statista 2021a. Number of ocean cruise passengers worldwide from 2009 to 2020. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/385445/number-of-passengers-of-the-cruise-industry-worldwide/
[28] Statista 2021b. Number of tourist arrivals in the Italian municipality of Venice from 2003 to 2020. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/732406/overnight-tourist-arrivals-in-venice-italy/
[29] Statista 2021c. Revenue of the cruise industry worldwide from 2018-2025. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1258061/revenue-cruises-worldwide
[30] UNWTO 2021. International tourism and COVID. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/international-tourism-and-covid-19
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.