Abstract
This chapter focuses on the effects of an ever-increasing digital transformation on the cruise industry. Consumer habits shift from traditional purchasing to online and mobile purchasing. Technology has added new elements to the cruising experience enabling a new form of consumer-generated experiential marketing. Mobile technology and social media have extended the cruise experience cycle and forced the cruise sector to adapt their marketing strategies to consider the effect of social media marketing, as well as the implications of mobile purchasing, and online gathering of information. From Carnival’s launch of ‘Best blogs at Sea’, to the many Twitter accounts relating to the cruise sector, and to the Second Life virtual space of Oceania Cruises, it is evident that early adopters in the sector have realized they need to reconsider their branding strategies and align them to the new consumer of the digital era.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Cruise ship tourism |
| Editors | Clare Weeden, Ross Dowling |
| Pages | 348-360 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 16 Dec 2016 |