Ma, Bich Tien (2022) Exploring Residents’ Perceptions and Behavioural Intentions to Support Cruise Tourism: A Case Study in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Residents’ perceptions and behaviours have been acknowledged as integral to sustainable tourism development. While cruise tourism has been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and there are signs that the industry is recovering, understanding how residents in port destinations perceive and can support cruise tourism is integral to recovery. Indeed, little research has been conducted on residents’ attitudes towards cruise tourism development (Del Chiappa & Abbate, 2016; Del Chiappa et al., 2018). In addition, scant attention has been paid to this topic in Asia as much of the research to date on cruise tourism has been undertaken within the context of North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. The aim of this research was to investigate relationships among resident perceptions of the economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts of cruise tourism, overall quality of life (QOL) and their behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism. The context for this research was Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam which is in the early stages of development as a port destination but emerging as one of the largest in South East Asia. To achieve the aim of this research, two research questions were developed. RQ1 asked ‘How do residents of the host communities of a port destination demonstrate, or otherwise, their behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism?’ and RQ2 asked ‘To what extent do resident perceptions of the economic, sociocultural and environmental and overall quality of life impacts of cruise tourism influence their behavioural support for cruise tourism in their everyday lives?’. To address the two research questions, an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design was used whereby qualitative research was first undertaken followed by quantitative research. In Stage 1, three focus groups with a total of 23 HCMC residents were conducted to investigate perceptions of participants may behaviourally support cruise tourism in HCMC in the future. The findings from the focus groups were used to develop a set of initial items to measure resident behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism. The measure, which will be referred to as the RBISCT from this point forward, was tested for content validity via an academic expert panel. The items remaining after the removal of those suggested by the experts were then included in a questionnaire administered via an online survey in Stage 2 of the research with a sample HCMC (n=465) residents. The data from Stage 2 were used to assess the reliability, cross-loading, average variance extracted, convergent validity and discriminant validity of the RBISCT. The data obtained from the online survey were also used to examine the hypothesised relationships among residents’ perceptions of the economic, sociocultural, environmental impacts of cruise tourism, overall QOL and their behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism. The research identified that resident behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism is a multidimensional construct which can be measured by RBISCT. It was found that a significant positive correlation between residents’ perceptions of positive economic impact, a positive sociocultural impact of cruise tourism and their behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism. In addition, a significant relationship between residents’ perceptions of positive economic, positive sociocultural, negative sociocultural, negative environmental impacts of cruise tourism and their overall QOL. These findings assist to provide a more comprehensive understanding of residents’ perspectives of how cruise tourism impacts their QOL and the way they may behave to support cruise tourism in the future. This research adds to the emerging body of literature on cruise tourism. First, one important and innovative contribution of the research is the novel conceptualisation and measurement of resident behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism. Second, this research examined relationships among resident perceptions of the economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts of cruise tourism, overall QOL and their behavioural intentions to support cruise tourism which have not been fully explored in the cruise tourism literature despite this relationship being important to understand. Finally, this research contributes to the tourism recovery literature in relation to impacts of external events, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, by providing an understanding of residents’ perceptions and their behavioural intention to support tourism (in the context of cruise tourism) in this era. There are several practical implications of this research for local government and tourism stakeholders as they develop strategies around cruise tourism to manage the negative impacts of cruise tourism, to enhance residents’ QOL in the port destination. For example, the findings can specifically inform recovery strategies in relation to cruise tourism in HCMC after the COVID-19 Pandemic via collaboration between the local community, government, and destination managers, to plan and update appropriate policies and regulations to ensure the health and safety of both cruise tourists and the community. Furthermore, this research contributes useful information for development of effective strategies for resuming cruises to HCMC. The findings may even inform other destinations developing strategies for cruise tourism development. Finally, the findings may aid cruise liner companies to better understand HCMC residents, and those of similar port destinations. This may help them reposition their cruise products, particularly port activities, based on how locals react to and are willing to accommodate cruise tourists in port destinations. For example, instead of focusing on city tours, cruise liners may consider adding other attractive destinations such as traditional villages, or activities such as cooking classes, so that cruise tourists have opportunities to meet local people and learn about the local culture to enhance the potential and benefits of sustainable tourism development in this context.

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