MICRO

• Transportation mode selection


  Reasons why people select one transportation mode over another: cost, traveling time, safety, convenience, comfort, availability, frequency of trips, ground services, terminal facilities and locations, status and prestige, and departure and arrival times
• Travel segments


  Different value perceptions - time spent traveling and departure/arrival times are very important to business travelers, while cost is the primary consideration for other travelers
• Jagdish Sheth's theory on transportation mode selection

  • Travelers choose a travel mode based on how they psychologically weigh the five factors: functional, aesthetic/emotional, social/organizational, situational, and curiosity
• Functional utility


  Expected performance of a mode for a specific purpose, e.g. departure/arrival times, safety record, directness of trip, number of stops/transfers
• Aesthetic/emotional


  Aspects like fear, social concerns, style, luxury, comfort, and other personal feelings evoked by the form of transportation
• Social/organizational


  Stereotypes about frequent users of certain transportation modes based on sex, racial origin, income, price/cost, and education
• Curiosity


  Value of a transportation mode, e.g. flying transatlantic on Concorde may have high curiosity value for business travelers
• Historical development of train travel

  1. Trains stimulated travel in the 19th and early 20th centuries

  2. First organized train tour in 1841

  3. Three million Englishmen boarded trains to see the Great Exhibition in 1851

  4. First transcontinental route in the US completed in 1869

  5. Train became primary means of movement in the US until after WWII
• Pullman coach and diner car

  • Introduced luxury first-class sleeping, dining, and elaborate meal facilities on trains in the late 1800s
• Decline of train travel

  Automobile and airplane gained more popularity as passenger transportation modes after WWII
• Amtrak and VIA Rail


  1. Established to provide intercity passenger rail transportation in the US and Canada

  2. Successful in increasing passenger volumes by improving equipment and services and promoting train travel
• Factors influencing train selection

  • Cost/price
  • Comfort
  • Safety
  • Ability to see the area
• Reasons passengers favor train travel

  • Safety
  • Ability to look out and see interesting things en route
  • Ability to get up and walk around
  • Arriving rested and relaxed
  • Personal comfort
• Negative factors of rail travel


  • Slowness in reaching destination
  • Inflexible departure times
  • Lack of quality in food services
• Train travel continues to be more important in Europe and Asia than the US, particularly for long-distance travel
• High-speed rail in Europe and Asia

  • Euro City network, Shinkansen bullet trains in Japan, Tres Grande Vitesse in France, Trans-Siberian Railroad in Russia
• Eurailpass


  Allowed unlimited second-class and later first-class rail travel in European countries, including access to ferries and steamers
• Historical development of ship travel

  1. Steamship era began in 1840 with Cunard's transatlantic liner trips

  2. Decline of ships as scheduled passenger transportation due to jet aircraft

  3. Cruise ships replaced regularly scheduled passenger ships
• Cruise ships


  Provide a vacation experience rather than just transportation, with accommodations, food, entertainment, and amenities
• Types of cruises


  • Short cruises (1 week or less)
  • Intermediate long cruises (1-4 weeks)
  • Long cruises (1-3 months)
• Short cruises


  • More popular due to less vacation time required and lower cost, allow experiencing new environments and cultures with comforts of home
• Cruise ship sizes


  • Large vessels (180+ passengers), small "mini-cruise" or "ultra-yacht" vessels (under 100 passengers)
  • Trend is toward larger vessels (2,000+ passengers)
• Cruise ship amenities and services

  • Accommodations from rooms to lavish staterooms
  • Food offerings throughout the day
  • Entertainment including classes, performances, discos, gambling, etc.
  • Gyms, spas, athletic facilities
• Cruise promotion


  Based on health, recreation, and pleasure, with themed cruises also popular
• Activities on cruise ships

  • Charm classes
  • Language lessons
  • Dance classes
  • Bridge
  • Table tennis
  • Aerobics
  • Jogging
  • Shuffleboard
• Many ships now have fully-equipped gyms, health spas, and an athletic counselor
• Entertainment on cruise ships

  • Full-scale musical productions
  • Live entertainment with well-known performers
  • Discos
  • Bingo
  • Gambling
  • Courses in self-improvement
• Socializing


  One of the major attractions of a cruise vacation
• Passengers who prefer a less active type of vacation

  Can relax by the pool or on deck and enjoy the warm climate and beautiful sunsets
• Cruise vacations


  • Combine fresh air, plenty of good food, a variety of activities, and visits to exotic places
• Types of theme cruises

  • Culinary cruises
  • Historic voyages to less-known places
  • Stock market seminars
  • Movie festivals
  • Music festivals
  • Art
  • Golf
  • Astrology
  • Tennis
  • Photography
  • Beauty counseling
• United States


  Dominates the international cruise market by supplying more than 70% of total passengers
• Europe


  Supplies 17% of total cruise passengers
• Estimates of the total dollar income of the cruise industry are difficult to obtain because income is earned from various sources including the scale of births, gambling, bars, shops, and miscellaneous services
• Cruise lines have lucrative markets in the United Kingdom, West Germany, and Australia
• In Europe, Russian ships sail from ports in Italy, the United Kingdom and Holland. They offer lower weights and good services
• The cruise industry is largely owned by European companies which are located in Denmark, Norway, Holland, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, and Greece
• Several United States and American territory cities serve as major ports of cruise ships. The top ports are Miami, New York, San Juan, Port Everglades, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans
• Caribbean


  The world's largest cruise destination, comprising 50% of total visitor arrivals
• Other major cruise destinations

  • Mediterranean
  • Scandinavia
  • Alaska
  • Pacific