Environmental, economic, and social impacts of cruise development

With the development of the cruise industry, the associated pollution and social impact issues are becoming more severe. The objective of this study is, therefore, to identify the significant impact factors in the cruise development process and to analyze their effects on the natural environment, economy and society. To this end, the study first identified the dimensions and criteria through interviews with experts and a literature review, grouping the dimensions of impact cost into 'natural environment', 'economic' and 'social' using the best-worst method (BWM) resulting in four impact factors included under each dimension, totalling 12 criteria. Methodologically, these criteria were sorted by weight using BWM, resulting in the six most influential factors, which were, in order, 'wastewater, oil pollution and toxic substances', 'exhaust gas and noise', 'low consumption willingness and failure to meet expectations', 'causing urban congestion and traffic jams', 'changing the residents' original lifestyle' and 'vectors of infectious disease transmission'. Following this, the causal diagrams between the various criteria were drawn with the causal relationships between the factors analyzed using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The results of the study showed that 'causing urban congestion and traffic jams' is the key core factor directly affecting the other five. These findings can assist the cruise industry and the local government in formulating effective preventive and improvement measures to minimise the negative environmental and social impacts of cruise development and to ensure the sustainable development of the industry. This study also has important implications for future management and policy formulation in the cruise industry.