Antecedents of Behavioral Intention Indonesian Cruise Passengers to Travel on Cruise Ship

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world has had an impact on almost all sectors. All countries are trying to implement health protocols by shutting the border, seaports, and airports in order to reduce the transmission rate of the virus in their country. One of the industries that have had an impact is the cruise ship industry where on early February 2020 when the virus began to spread, the first transmission occurred abroad on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Since then, the cruise ship has been suspended globally. After almost a year of trying to discuss with the authorities and epidemiologists, a health protocol panel was put in place in order to resume operation during the pandemic. This study aims to analyze the effect of perceived value, perceived trust, and perceived service quality on behavioral intention and mediated by word-of-mouth for Indonesian cruise passengers. Data was collected using a questionnaire method via a google form. The respondents in the research are Indonesian tourists who have traveled by cruise ship at least once before the pandemic. The total sample of the study was 253 respondents. The data collected were analyzed and tested for hypotheses using SPSS and SEM LISREL. The results of the research with direct effect show that perceived value, perceived trust, and perceived service quality have positive and significant relationships between word-of-mouth and behavioral intention. For indirect effect show that word-of-mouth has a mediating relationship between perceived value, perceived trust, and perceived service quality on behavioral intention. The results of this research are beneficial for cruise ship operators, travel agents, academicians, and related parties in forming behavioral intentions to travel on cruise ships.