Cruise line - Research Paper Example

Cruise Line Research Design affiliation Cruise Line Research Design Background The cruise line research proposal was given by the company to the Victoria cruise industry, to uncover the reason for the decline of 2014 and is now going into the qualitative research stage. Although the seasonal visits to Victoria have numbered around 465,000 in 2014, there was a downward shift from 2013 (Peacock, 2014). This has presented as an opportunity for research. The reasons for the decline need to be found and analyzed so that the cruise ship industry can take steps in marketing to correct this unexpected drop.

For this reason, the survey is being designed to survey 30 to 40 cruise ship customers who canceled their 2014 trip to Victoria. The Victoria Tourism is an enormous industry in the tourism of British Columbia, and it is worth to survey people who have chosen to come to Victoria. The research company will communicate with ten different Internet travel agencies in Europe and America who are willing to facilitate the research by allowing the company to access the contact information of the customers.

These customers will be asked to participate by completing the survey via Skype or email. The questions on the survey will uncover the relevant reasons for their cruise ship vacation cancelation.2. ResearchThis research survey will be conducted to bring a solution to the issue of the decreasing number of tourists who are cruising to Victoria, BC. According to Victoria News, there was a decrease in number of visitors from 481,733 passengers in 2013, to 465,065 in 2014 (Stewart, 2014). For this reason, the research will study the cruise ship industry and try to come up with the best ways to increase the number of visitors and implement a marketing strategy that would help the Victoria BC to regain and enlarge its customer base.

The research will help to correct the problem of reduced numbers of tourists by surveying the real reasons behind the decline. In this way, the cruise ship companies will be able to correct their marketing efforts and planning immediately.3. Research objectives As agreed upon by the Cruise line industry in Victoria, BC, the research objectives include the following: 1. with the help of owners/managers of the selected internet tour companies design a fourteen-questions survey that will clearly explain their reasons for cruise cancelation2.

Make a pre-set appointment with the managers of these agencies to finalize effective questions to ask their customers who have canceled their cruise trip in 2014.3. Discover the most effective way to capture the information that has been given by the customers, and then to display the information in a marketing style format (Easy to understand).4. 5. MethodologyThe recommended methodology to conduct an effective survey is to have one-on-one Skype interviews with the 30 to 40 customers across European and American regions.

Skype is a web conferencing tool that enables individuals to participate in a one-on-one interview; it facilitates an instant audio-video communication regardless of geographical location (Bembenutty, 2014). 6. Surveya. Pre-interview introductionGood (Morning or afternoon), my name is Saud Bin Aqeel from Victoria Tourism. Your recent travel Agent gave us your contact information. Thank you for taking this time to participate in this survey. Last week we emailed you about making this appointment, and we appreciate you for agreeing to turn up to this appointment time.

In this regard, may I ask you some questions regarding your recent cancelation of a cruise to Victoria British Colombia Canada, which occurred in 2014?b. Interview Questionsi. Where are you from?ii. How many people are in your touring group?iii. How often do you travel on a cruise?iv. Why did you initially choose Victoria as your vacation destination?v. Which cruise line did you select to Victoria and why?vi. How important is a price to you when choosing a cruise line company?vii. Why did you decide to cancel your trip?viii. Where did you hear about Victoria as a destination?

What was your information source?ix. Would you like to visit Victoria, BC in the future?x. Were there any negative news reports that affected your decision?xi. Did social media affect your decision to cancel the trip?xii. Would you recommend our cruise line to your friends and family? xiii. Is there another reason(s) for your decision apart from the above?xiv. Generally, are you satisfied with your experience with the travel agency you chose?c. The approach to the research interview. Structuring the research survey in a systematic manner is imperative because it will ensure all issues required to be researched are covered adequately.

As such, the survey must be scientific and structured in a way that there is a flow of logic. The research must ensure that the survey is valid to facilitate the reliability of the Skype interview. In this way, the customers will develop a good rapport as the interview fall along (Litwin, 1996). d. Survey Schedule Time is an important factor in all circumstances. For this reason, it is paramount to schedule the research survey in order to have all questions answered in real time. Also, scheduling the survey will ensure that the interviewer does not hold up the interviewee for a long time because he/she might be having other personal agendas to attend.

In this regard, the survey will take 20 minutes at most to conference with each customer.e. Survey analysisThe quality of research survey that the research company will provide to the cruise ship industry is imperative as it will assist in making a change in marketing strategies that will improve business in the port of Victoria. The research will provide the basis for a much-needed plan to rectify the problem if all the factors contributing to the decline are revealed (Tourism Victoria, 2013). f. Survey budget Due to the limitation of resources, it is significant to have a survey budget.

A survey budget will ensure a reasonable estimation of the total survey cost and enable the research company not to spend more than it intends. A survey budget must take into consideration the cost of creating survey instruments and cost for entering and analyzing the data. It must also consider the cost of inviting of respondents as well as encouraging their participation (United Nations, 2008). References Bembenutty, H. (2014).Self-regulated learning: New directions for teaching and learning, number 126.

San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.Litwin, M. S. (1996). How to measure survey reliability and validity. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.Peacock, A. (2014). Cruise ship numbers down this year - Victoria News. Retrieved On April 15, 2015 from http://www.vicnews.com/news/277956851.htmlStewart, C. M. (2014). Port expects decrease in visitors | Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved On April 15, 2015 from http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/local-news/port-expects-decrease-visitorsTourism Victoria. (2013).

Exit Survey. Retrieved On April 15, 2015 from http://www.tourismvictoria.com/includes/content/docs/media/FINAL-Tourism-Victoria-Exit-Survey-Oct-2013---21Nov2013-411-PM.pdfUnited Nations. (2008). Designing household survey samples: Practical guidelines. New York: United Nations. p. 12.