ABSTRACT
A burgeoning piece of the tourism industry, one that comes at very high initial costs, is the cruise ship business, widely reported to be the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. Mobile, Alabama, built a cruise terminal in a deal with Carnival Cruise Lines that subsequently fell through, leaving the city with $35 million in bond debt. The average expenditure for cruise ship passengers was 84 euros–about the same as hikers and backpackers and significantly less than tourists staying in hotels. Cruise ships are also major air polluters and since they run auxiliary engines to produce electricity while in port, air pollutants are not just distributed over the open ocean. Finally is the concern over sociocultural authenticity, "whether visitors have an opportunity to interact with and to experience local culture, and local cultures are treated respectfully". Cruise tourists spent significantly less time in Norway than other tourists.
