Cruise Passengers’ Expenditure in the Caribbean Port of Call of Cartagena De Indias : A Cross-Section Data Analysis

The cruise industry has become a significant component of the Colombian tourism economy, and Cartagena de Indias has become the largest cruise port in the country. The present paper aims to provide a better understanding of the cruise industry by considering the expenditure of cruise ship passengers disembarking in Cartagena de Indias as a key variable in the economic analysis of the cost and benefits. We estimate two cross-sectional regression models for the cruising expenditure, showing the existence of different tourist profiles that are related to different expenditure levels. In particular, heavy spenders are distinguishable from the other segments in terms of age, hours spent out of the ship, nationality, income levels and their spending pattern