Contemporary Tourism Issues
Reflection Paper on Hong Kong Tourism Future Development
Introduction
Hong Kong tourism industry is one of the major economic drivers in the region. Total tourism expenditure amounts to HK.3 billion and with overall visitor arrivals increased by 8.1%, reaching total arrival of 25.25 million in 2006. Mainland residents are the most frequent visitors. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has an ongoing tourism promotional campaign known as “Hong Kong – Live it! Love it!” HKTB was successful in making Hong Kong a must-visit destination for travelers. Nevertheless, this consultant’s report will highlight points to which tourism industry could be further developed. This report will outline various proposed changes to further boost Hong Kong’s tourism industry.
Hong Kong tourism industry today
Euromonitor reports that China’s impact on both inbound and outbound tourism is so immense that it has impacted on traffic to budget destinations (2008). In return, outbound travelers’ choice of destination is China due to it’s the relative ease of access and low-cost benefits to Hong Kong travelers. To cater for the Chinese arrivals, the hotel industry is also changing its landscape. The travel accommodation is now equipped with budget accommodation schemes where the industry had previously focused on four- and five-star hotels. Nevertheless, there have been major upgrades and renovations amongst the city’s premium hotels.
Tour packages are still the most common retail travel product although product portfolio remains to be limited. Further, flight only purchases are increasingly becoming popular because of the growing popularity of short haul destinations. The problem is that Hong Kong’s travel retail industry is faced with slow developments in full online purchasing. Only one major international player is offering online purchasing options. Just recently, Hong Thai Travel Services Ltd introduced online services, providing travelers more choices.
All in all, China will serve as the driver for future growth as coupled with the ongoing Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). IVS currently covers 49 mainland cities with population of approximately 250 million mainland residents. Industry players then must focus on Chinese market.
Opportunities for future growth
Hong Kong government continues to pursue closer integration with Mainland China in terms of the flow of people and resources, notably through the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. The reunification with Mainland China has brought Hong Kong and Mainland much closer through the “one country, two systems” principle. At the other end of the spectrum, the territory continues to develop as a center for both tourism and high-value services (Economist, 2009). The Chinese market and the continuous tourism and hospitality development in Hong Kong are important because of the declining international quality.
One reason for such decline is the Handover especially from Britain, Canada, and the United States which adversely affected the expatriate community in Hong Kong. The disappearance of the Western “ex-pats” and the arrival of more mainland Chinese has had a subtle change in the look and feel of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, there is one aspect that Hong Kong could take advantage and that is its Chinese cultural attributes are on the rise (Martin, 2007). The Hong Kong government has increased its efforts to preserve historical buildings, both of Chinese design and colonial origin (Martin, 2007).
Finally, the rapid development and wide adoption of digital technology in Hong Kong has lead to great changes in the hospitality and tourism industry. Because of the advancements in technology, physical distance has lesser effect on tourists. Telecommunications and transportation become more efficient and less expensive. Distance is bridged even further using the Internet. Technology allows tourists to book hotel accommodations and air tickets online. Electronic brochures are now widely used in the promotion of trade fairs and travel products.
Tourism plans for the next 10 years
To fully comprehend the growth of a tourist destination, understanding the elements that relate thereby influence the increase of tourist to a certain place. Hong Kong’s tourism system will be further developed using the model proposed by Leiper (1995). Three parts of the model are Traveler Generating Regions (TGR), Transit Route Regions (TRR) and Tourist Destination Regions (TDR). Tourism industry is a proven pillar in the economy of the region, contributing about 7.64% to the Hong Kong gross domestic products (GDP). TGRs are ‘the places where the trips began and by where people who will later be described or counted as tourists start their journey’ (p. 72). It would be necessary to note that Hong Kong is a city that boasts for stunning cityscapes, soaring mountains, heritage sites and extensive green countryside.
TGRs for Hong Kong include China, Australia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and USA. IVS is currently applicable for Mainland residents. It would be profitable if IVS will be extended to other Asian countries that are also top tourism generating regions for Hong Kong. The implementation of IVS made a significant impact on Hong Kong tourism industry that is once tainted by the SARS epidemic. IVS could be made available initially for Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Japan and Philippines to boost tourism inflow. Same terms and conditions will be applied. Visas will be valid for 7 days and could be applied again upon return from Hong Kong to the home countries.
For the Chinese market, tour packages will be further marketed specially in times of events and festivals. Chinese festivals are rich experiences hence should be witnessed personally. Special offers and promos for Mainland residents will be applied to the six most important festivals for Chinese. These events are identified as Chinese New Year, Ching Ming, Tin Hau, Birthday of Lord Buddha, Cheng Chau Festival and Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival. Festivals are among the best ways to experience the unique culture of this modern East-meets-West destination.
Further, TRRs are those ‘intermediate zones where the principal travel activity of tourism occurs, distinct from visit activity in destinations’ (Leiper, 1995, p. 81). It said that TRR’s efficiency could be increased when access is ready for a significant volume of travelers, and also the elements such as travel time, fares and other travel costs. Also belonging in this factors are availability of a carrier and other transport facilities, capacity, frequency of services on public carriers as well as changes in transit, discomfort, reliability, attractions around the way and stopover points. With the availability of more than 50, 000 rooms, there is a huge choice of accommodation that suits every budget. There are hotels, budget accommodation such as guesthouses and hostels and youth hostels.
Considering this, it would be also profitable if Hong Kong tourism will be marketed for backpackers, DINKS, SINKS, empty nesters, boomers and youths. Backpackers are commonly cost conscious but are generally well-educated. Such group composes mainly of individuals aged 18 to 24 years old, with no children. DINKS are double income no kids while SINKS stands for single income no kids. Empty nesters are those parents whose children are no longer living with them. Empty nesters are mainly between 45 and 55 years of age, well educated and with high disposable incomes. Boomers refer to the members of the baby boom generation born in the 1950s and youths are between 19 and 25 of age. Although with low disposable income, youths know how to indulge ‘the good life’ (Classifying tourists, 2009).
Because Hong Kong tourism mainly draws from overnight to lengthy stays, particular tourism marketing will be devoted for backpackers. Backpackers are known to be interested with different culture, enjoy different adventures and activities and are tended to travel independently or with a companion. This market is generally cost-conscious. They prefer to stay in lower-cost accommodation, using lower-cost transport. The purpose of this is to afford the higher cost of the travel itself and the activities that come with it. Backpackers, also known as budget travelers and independent travelers, tend to stay for a longer period.
When it comes to the elements of travel time, fares and other travel costs, Octopus cards serve as electronic fare cards which are accepted at almost all public transport. A traveler can add money to when it s/he needs to and unspent value is refundable along with the HK deposit. A traveler can also opt for non-returnable Sold Octopus. It is proposed inhere that Sold Octopus cards’ product feature will be extended. As planned, Sold Octopus cards will be designed with the most popular Hong Kong destinations in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and Outlying Islands. This line of Sold Octopus cards will benefit not just the locals but also the foreigners visiting the country in two ways: first, users could take advantage of the cards for purchase purposes and second, cards will serve as memorabilia or souvenirs to them.
Further, a website that will cater to complete online planning of travel will be established under the supervision of HKTB. This website will be devoted for travel requirements and itineraries. Reservations and purchasing of airline tickets could be also done in this website. Various features of the website are destinations, hotels and resorts, tours/packages, cruises, air transport, sea ferries, cars and other transportation and bookings.
Leiper (1995) also points out that TDRs or the places where a person chooses to stay a while in order to experience some feature or characteristic. In becoming popular, these TDRs must be equipped with provisions for attraction, accessibility, tolerance, security, life support and comfort systems, cost and benefit advantage and information diffusion. With this said, a tourism marketing campaign that has a public appeal and interest is green tourism. Green tourism is currently included in the initiative of HKTB. In fact, the Business Environment Council (BEC) and Coalition on Sustainable Tourism (CoST) co-developed Hong Kong’s Great Outdoors Guide Map which aimed at promoting the region’s 50 nature and cultural destinations. Likewise, the purpose of the Guide Map is to introduce Hong Kong to a much wider audience particularly to those who are interested in green discovery (BEC, 2007).
Green tourism marketing will be intensified. This is specifically relevant today in time when all countries are interconnecting to adopt and mitigate climate change and global warming. Aside from capitalizing on green outdoors activities for tourists and/or travelers, the Hong Kong government could also raise awareness regarding the issue not just for locals but also for foreigners. Green tourism will be treated as a special interest tourism that Hong Kong will be known for. Special interest tourism has specific activities and markets depending on their purpose. Green tourism is in essence environmental tourism wherein 70% Hong Kong’s land mass is rural mountains, forests and outlying islands.
Aside from green destinations, another profitable destination is Victoria Harbor, a natural landform harbor situated in the between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. Victoria is world-famous for its panoramic night view and skyline. Because it is a natural centre, the harbor served as a host to many public shows while also it honors the most well-known people in Hong Kong film industry through its Avenue of Stars. Nevertheless, port facilities make it a suitable site development for harbor retailing. Harbor retailing could mark the commercialization of ports. The goal is to make the harbor a retailing district although it may require diversification of service provisions and products for consumers of all class. Better yet, the harbor could feature products in retail stores which are locally made. The harbor could also house premium selection of cafes, restaurants, boutique shops, convenience stores and supermarkets.
Conclusion
In sum, various plans to develop Hong Kong tourism industry will include extending offering of IVS other than the Chinese market to include other key Asian markets, strengthening of events/festivals tourism to Mainland residents, intensifying tourism marketing to backpackers, designing Sold Octopus with most popular Hong Kong destinations to serve as memorabilia or souvenirs for foreigners, developing an online-travel planning website, intensifying green tourism and harbor retailing. The role of HKTB will be also strengthened to function as key supervisory agency of the website to the established. It will be also their task to implement the changes that are outlined within this consultant’s report.
(Word count: 1, 994)
References
BEC. (2007). Sustainable Tourism. Retrieved from
http://www.bec.org.hk/eng/sustainable_tourism.aspx.
Classifying tourists (2009) Barcelona Field Studies Centre, retrieved on 9 March 2009, from http://geographyfieldwork.com/TourismClassification.htm.
Economist (2009). Country Briefings – Hong Kong: Economic data. Economist Intelligence Unit.
Euromonitor (2008). Travel and Tourism in Hong Kong, China. Euromonitor International.
Leiper, N (1995) Tourism Management, Collingwood, Victoria: TAFE Publications.
Martin, M. F. (2007). Hong Kong: Ten Years After the Handover. Asian Political Economics. Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment