Contemporary Issues in Tourism
Introduction
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government views tourism as a sustainable industry and one of the major pillars of Hong Kong’s economy (Lee, 2001). As the Government realizes that tourism (Burns, & Holden, 1995) is a vehicle for economic and social development, some proactive policies and contingency planes had been adopted to further strengthen and enhance Hong Kong’s capacity to be a key tourist destination. However, even if Hong Kong has been able to manage the tourism issues and problems well, there are still issues that they should consider so as to sustain the development of their tourism industry. Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to identify the contemporary tourism issues and determine how these issues affect both the community and the industry. For this report, Ngong Ping Skyrail will be given emphasis.
Tourism Issues
Five to ten years from now, tourism will be envisioned as an aspect in which progress is utmost. Many alternative tourism activities and programs are implied to drive this development. It includes movements of persons for essentially cultural motivations such as study tours, performing arts and cultural tours, travel to festivals, visits to sites and monuments in which all movements of persons satisfy the human need for diversity, tending to raise the cultural level of the individual giving rise to new knowledge, experience and encounters (Victoria’s Tourism Plan Summary, 2002).
In contemporary tourism, there are various issues which should be considered to ensure economic gains from the commercialization of tourism. Accordingly one of the issues that must be considered by tourism industry is the quality of the tourism service provided to the guests and tourists. In addition, safety and security of the tourists should also be considered to attract more clients. The issue of the quality and customer satisfaction has now been considered since most countries are considering their tourism industry as one of the largest and also the most significant industries and investments.
Analysis of the Issue
In order for Hong Kong to improve their tourism industry, different amusement parks, and other tourism projects have been considered. The establishment of Ngong Ping 360 enables Hong Kong to attract more tourists and attain their goal of promoting their local culture. However, even though Ngong Ping 360 is becoming more popular in Hong Kong, there are still issues and problems that are being faced. One of the main tourism issues which concerns Ngong Ping 360 is in need of enforcing quality standards in which tourists look for in an amusement park, particularly in line with the safety. Tourists nowadays are more observant on the quality of the service of tourism industries and due to some internal reasons, Ngong Ping 360 at some point lacks the ability to deliver quality customer services. the consideration of quality in tourists spot is an important aspects, and because of the inability to give attention to this issue, the tourism industry may be affected.
Aside from these issues, the problem encountered by this amusement park is tourist’s complaint which is also known as one of the most significant issues for Ngong Ping 360. Due to the technical issues, the outcome is increase consumer complaints which have a negative effect for the tourism industry of Hong Kong. Another tourism issue that should be given consideration is how to have a new marketing communication strategy to enhance the awareness of local and international tourists regarding the existence of the Ngong Ping Skyrail.
Figure 1
Ngong Ping Skyrail
Discussion
Tourism is regarded as the world’s largest industry in the 21st century. In this manner, more and more places especially like in Hong Kong have been able to use their natural resources and also their tourism development and creativity to make their regions or sites become the number tourist sites.
It was mentioned above that there are various issues that should be considered in the tourism industry. These issues may have positive and negative effect in the community and the tourism issues and problems as a whole. Tourism issue, if managed strategically and efficiently, it would likely to provide economic growth for the place.
First, the tourism issues if managed properly and solve efficiently may be able to enhance the employment status of people. Because of the large number of tourists, more individuals are needed for construction purposes to build more accommodations, restaurants and other infrastructure that will enhance the tourism ability of the area. In this manner, when these people are working, they will have a stable income which may help them avail the products and consumer goods in the market place. Hence, more demands are required which will basically permit the enhancement of the economy.
Further, the tremendous growth any trends of tourism in Hong Kong may have a tendency to attract more investors to invest in Hong Kong. To be able to invite tourists, a certain place must be attractive so place would be given the chance to improve more landmarks and other tourist-spots within the area.
Although, tourism issues may post significant advantages for Hong Kong community and tourism industry it also encompasses some disadvantages. One of which is the notion that there are some tourists which may cause pollution and can destroy the natural environment such as noise pollution and visual pollution from different infrastructure built for enhancing the tourism industry. In addition, reengineering of a certain place to build other buildings that will contribute to be one of the central attractions for Hong Kong is costly and that the funds that have been spent may have been better used for other needs of the place or the regions such as educational needs.
In addition, there are some tourists who do not respect traditions, customs and cultures, hence, will result conflict among tourists and residence. Another disadvantage of tourism is it may destroy the natural beauty of a certain place and it may provide the loss of open spaces for future needs. Crowding and congestion are also some pointed disadvantage that Hong Kong may experience due to the rapid growth of tourism.
Conclusion
With the issues and problems faced by the tourism industry, it is but necessary to address tourism issues accordingly. Tourism and the changes in the social, economic and cultural environment call for the necessary measures of proving otherwise the claims made in the previous researches. The challenge that confronts the people in the tourism issues and problems is how to manage their attractions grounded on the standards and ideals of the preservation of the historic context and integrity of promoting particular places and artefacts. This will not only uphold the quality of the services provided by the tourism issues and problems but will likewise serve as an excellent tribute to the history that produced our contemporary society. The conflicts which arise from differing cultural interpretation should be in the realm of constant evaluation and adjustment.
Moreover responsible and educational tourism involves social responsibility, a strong commitment to nature and the integration of local people in any tourist operation or development that meets the needs of present tourists, host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems in which tourism products are operated in harmony with the local environment, community and cultures so that these become the beneficiaries not the victims of tourism development. Resolving immediately the differences that hinder the balance of cultural preservation and economic considerations in the tourism issues and problems should be the number one priority.
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