A Study on the ESG Strategy Comparison of Major Cruise Brands

While the industry is debating the significance of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) management, the cruise industry is one of the sectors where ESG management is important.Therefore, ESG strategies and goals are being announced among major cruise brands, and companywide efforts to achieve them are being strengthened.Carnival Corporation & PLC, Royal Caribbean Group, and Norwegian Cruise Line, which occupy the top three positions in the cruise industry, are doing their best to implement ESG management that places consideration for the environment and humanity as its core values.This paper analyzes the homogeneous characteristics as well as the distinctive characteristics of the three major cruise companies through content analysis of their ESG strategy presentation materials.The analysis was conducted through comparative analysis of report composition, strategy direction, specific plan to achieve goals, frequency analysis of key words described in the data, and data the layout.As a result of the analysis, first, it is common in the cruise industry that each company's ESG management is becoming important and concrete.Second, to achieve Net Zero by 2050, all three companies have the same goal in that they pursue resource regeneration, sustainable sourcing, local community and international standards, and pursue diversity of members.Third, although each company treated ESG management with equal importance in management, training, and partnership, Norwegian Cruise Line described a lot of empowerment, which corresponds to delegation of authority, and Norwegian Cruise Line pursued minimalism in expression.Norwegian Cruise Line's brand identity was clearly differentiated.Based on these analysis results, first, the importance of ESG strategies will increase due to the trend of ultra-large cruise ships and the increase in the number of customers onboard, and investment from academia and industry for related research will be expanded.Second, in implementing ESG strategies, more emphasis will be placed on operational know-how, training, and the advancement of partnerships with other organizations and companies.Lastly, if differentiated brand identity is consistently and systematically communicated in internal and external communication of ESG management, the fundamentals to become a sustainable company can be further strengthened.