ARTICLE IN PRESS

Tourism Management 29 (2008) 821–830

www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

Book reviews

The Future of Cruising—Boom or Bust, T. Peisley. Seatrade

Research Report, Seatrade, Colchester (2006). 299pp.,

£495.00, paperback, ISBN: 0905597745

This is a landmark study by the key analyst who haspublished the most extensive range of market intelligencereports for the cruise ship industry. Having written forEconomist Intelligence Unit and its successors, the author’sstudies comprise the main intelligence reports used by thecruise ship and sea passenger sector worldwide. This majorstudy consists of many industry data sources, oftenunavailable to other researchers along with insightfulcommentary and analysis to document trends, majordevelopments and change within the sector. For example,the opening statement on page 9 ‘the dominance of thelargest cruise companies is set to continue through to 2015and beyond’ illustrates why one would refer to this majorstudy: it provides strategic understanding, interpretationand analysis of how a major ‘transport as tourism’ sectorhas evolved and continues to develop. By citing the threelargest cruising companies—Carnival Corporation, RoyalPrincess Cruises and Star Corporation, the author illus-trates how these major players have grown their marketshare from 70% of worldwide capacity in 2002 to almost86% in 2006.

The report addresses a number of thorny issues as thesub-title of the report suggest, boom or bust? Is the currentlevel of growth sustainable in terms of market and profitgrowth? This provides an underlying theme throughout thereport and is discussed alongside key trends including: neweconomies of scale from ever increasing vessel size, moreflexible pricing opportunities and debates over growingdemand without sacrificing yields. Profitability remains achallenge, although Carnival and Royal Caribbean con-tinued to experience record growth in revenue and netincome. Cruise ship replacements have created large ordersfor new vessels and demand forecasts expect this newsupply to be filled by demand growth which will increase

from 15.1 million passengers in 2006 to 25 million in 2015.The report analyses many themes in nearly 300 pages ofmeticulously prepared and written text, including fleet sizeand growth, brand profiles of the major players, marketdemand, the economic impact of cruising by region and thekey studies undertaken along with initiatives (e.g. the UKsCruise UK and Cruise Wales initiative) to promote themarket along with cruise tourism trends. The sheer cost ofnew vessels is discussed in a chapter on new build costs andshipbuilding trends. Probably the most interesting twochapters for a reviewer were those covering ‘New andOngoing Challenges facing the cruise industry’ and‘Alternative Products—River Cruising and Super Yachts’.An e-mail update with 2006 data was also provided,expanding upon much of the 2005 data used in the report.The report is packed with market intelligence and data,which makes this the standard reference work on thesubject.Given my own interest in transport and tourism, I would

strongly recommend any library with a Tourism pro-gramme purchase this report. It is timely, very author-itative and there is nothing comparable in the market. Thelevel of detail, precision and insights on the cruise marketare unparalleled in relation to competing market intelli-gence reports. Given the price bracket of the report, itcertainly appeals to key industry bodies, but the globalsignificance of cruising as well as the regional and localisedimpacts makes it an important sector many marinedestinations are now seeking to develop. This report is ofthe highest standard that comes from a very experiencedauthor and commentator.

Stephen PageDepartment of Marketing, University of Stirling, Stirling,

Scotland FK9 4LA, UK

E-mail address: s.j.page@stir.ac.uk

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2007.06.001

Tea and Tourism: Tourists, Traditions and Transformations,

L. Jolliffe. Channel View Publications, Clevedon (2006).

262pp., £29.95 (pbk), ISBN: 13:978-1-84541-056-89

Tea is a special commodity. Not only does it havewonderful refreshing and rejuvenating properties but it iscapable of touching the heart and soul of many of its fans.

Like many other people I could not imagine starting myday without my morning ‘cuppa’ and I can recall manymoments in my life when tea has come to my rescue, withits almost magical restorative qualities.With a history rooted in the distant past tea evokes

stories, legend and myths of travel on the high seas, ancientritual, ceremony and even intrigue. It has earned its place