The means and ends of luxury value creation in cruise tourism: The case of Chinese tourists

China's consumer culture has been changing recently owing to the growth of the Chinese middle class, promotion of the Chinese cruise market, and Chinese consumers' emerging interest in pursuing luxury experiences. However, research on luxury consumption has traditionally focused on luxury goods; how luxury value can be created in luxury experience consumption, and what the outcome of luxury value creation may be, remains unknown. Taking cruise tourism as the research context, this study explored the links among cruise experience, luxury value and loyalty. Two survey rounds were conducted in Mainland China (N = 1200). Results reveal a hierarchical structure of cruise experiences, offering a unique perspective compared with conventional investigations of the tourist experience. Moreover, a comparison analysis was performed involving first-time and repeat cruise passengers. The findings also highlight the prominent role of quality perception rather than agentic feeling, in forming consumer loyalty; thus, cruisers appear mostly rational in determining their loyalty.