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Abstract
Swain,
R. A.and Barth, J. E. "An analysis of cruise ship rating guides,"
International
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 2002, 3:4,
43-60
An
introduction to the cruise industry is followed by an analysis of
cruise guides
worldwide with star ratings, which are widely available in bookstores
and
libraries. Data are obtained from 214 ocean-going cruise ships. A
linear
regression of the star ratings for each of four popular guides shows
that as
much as 70% of the ratings are explained by only two variables (year of
launch
and space or passenger ratio). It was found that consumers who wish to
compare
ships efficiently could do so by simply dividing the space or passenger
ratio
by 10.
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