Cruise Tourism Externalities and Residents’Support: A Mixed Approach

"This paper investigates residents’ preferences of investment in cruise tourism, . taking its externalities into full account. The research involved data collection in the port of call . of Messina (Sicily, Italy), during t he peak cruise season in 2011. A mixed generalized ordered . logit analysis, b ased upon a correspondence analysis, is run to examine what factors influence . residents’ perceptions abou t investing in cruise tourism. Potential positive and negative . externalities produced by this economic activity, as well as socio -demographic and econo mic . dete rminants are taken into account. Overall, residents in Messina, treated as a composite . stakeholder, would invest a very high level of resources in cruising if their income depends on . the cruise activity, if they had a cruise trip in the past, if th ey belong to a family with a high . number of components, and if they believe this activity to exert positive welfare, cultural and . social externalities. Conversely, residents in Messina are likely to prefer a low, or very low . level of investment the farther they live from the port, if they are female, retired and if they . perceive a det erioration of the environment. Implications for policy makers are drawn from . these empirical findings. "