7. Information-Knowledge-Experience: Heraklion Port Case Study

What tourists expect when visiting a destination is to obtain memorable experiences accompanied by domestic goods and services. In this context, destinations are positioned as “experiences” while tourist motivations and experiences are as diverse as the characteristics of the destinations. In the case of cruise tourism the term “destination” can receive multiple interpretations, since apart from the ports of calls included in an itinerary, the cruise ship is also perceived as destination. In touristic literature, the study of motivations and experiences of visitors is extended, whistle studies related to onshore experiences and behavior patterns of cruise passengers are limited and existed research focuses mostly in the well established destinations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the reengineering process followed by a well known cruise destination, Heraklion. Key elements are studied regarding changes in infrastructure, introduction of services, storytelling and information technology applications. Customer-satisfaction is accessed to correlate the level of passenger’s satisfaction, with port’s strategic goals.