LAUSR

Abstract This research provided a meta-analysis of the direct economic impacts of cruise tourism, using a meta-regression, an Ordinary Least Square model, a fixed-effects model, and Sobel-Goodman mediation tests. The results revealed a significantly positive coefficient between direct economic impacts and: number of passengers, number of crew members, number of cruise lines, expenditures per passenger, and expenditures per cruise line. It was further found that cruise lines had significant mediation effects on the expenditures per passenger and per crew member at port destinations. Compared to North American markets, the direct economic impacts of cruise tourism on ports in the Caribbean markets and other emerging markets were significantly lower.