Study on the Financial Performance of the Cruise Industry Based on Entropy TOPSIS Method

Abstract

In recent years, the global cruise industry, having grown substantially and contributed notably to the world economy, has seen its operations and profitability directly impacted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the present study was conducted to analyse the financial performance of the global cruise industry and to understand the development trend of the cruise tourism industry. Focusing on the three major cruise companies dominating nearly 80% of the global cruise industry market share from 2017-2023, the entropy TOPSIS method was hereby adopted to evaluate and compare their financial performance across four key dimensions, including solvency, operating ability, profitability and development ability. By determining the relative weights of these financial indicators, the paper systematically ranked the performance of each cruise company in these critical areas. The study found that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial decline in the financial performance of the cruise industry. Among the companies analysed, Carnival Group (CCL) demonstrated relatively strong overall performance. In contrast, Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian Group (NCLH) exhibited distinct strengths and weaknesses across various financial aspects. In addition, grounded in the outcomes, recommendations were proposed for cruise business operators in terms of fleet optimisation, shareholder welfare, and cost hedging strategies. These suggestions aimed to strengthen the resilience and risk tolerance of the cruise industry and to achieve the sustainable development of the cruise industry.