Motivations and experiences of Mainland Chinese medical tourists in Hong Kong

Medical tourism has been developing very rapidly in recent years and Hong Kong has emerged as a new medical tourism destination. The purpose of the study is to explore the motivations and experiences of a sample of medical tourists in Hong Kong and hence semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with obstetric patients from Mainland China. The findings indicate that one of the most important reasons for their traveling to give birth in Hong Kong was to avoid China’s ‘One Child’ policy. Variations in staff attitudes were also found among different hospitals and even in the same hospital. The findings also suggest that perceived discrimination by the medical tourists emerges in the form of less favourable service and less information sharing.     

Ethics of Chinese & Western tourists in Hong Kong

The potential for tension between tourists and residents due to tourist behaviour is rising. In such environment, understanding tourists’ ethical judgments of different scenarios is important. This study asks tourists and residents to ethically evaluate five different scenarios, using a multidimensional ethics scale and rate the likelihood they are to engage in these scenarios while at home and on vacation. An intercept survey of 1827 questionnaires were collected from Hong Kong residents, Mainland Chinese and Western tourists. Teleological ethical theories may justify actions that are deemed ethically inappropriate by deontology or ethics of justice. Western tourists are more likely to engage in unethical behaviour on holidays than at home. For Mainland Chinese visitors, the opposite is true.     

A travel demand model for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong

The purpose of the study was to determine what exogenous variables best explained the travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong. The 12 years (1984–1995) annual time series data of ‘number of Mainland Chinese tourist arrivals’, ‘China disposable income per capita’, ‘consumer price indices in Hong Kong and China’ and ‘exchange rates’ was used to develop a travel demand model. Seven exogenous variables were selected for the model through a literature review. An OLS multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the ‘best’ subset of seven exogenous variables to determine the demand model. The results showed that travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong could be explained by ‘disposable income per capita’ and ‘relaxation of visa requirements’.     

Leadership Issues and Challenges in the Tourism Industry: A Hong Kong Perspective

This study examines current leadership issues and challenges in the tourism industry with a particular focus on Hong Kong, a trend-setting locality for the industry. Employing qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 highly respected industry leaders, all having long-established careers involving extensive local and global experience. These leaders represent a wide variety of sectors of the tourism industry. Study findings highlighted specific skills (business knowledge, communication, self-reflection), personal characteristics (determination, open-mindedness) and excellent relations with other parties (team support, respect) as key attribute requirements of industry leaders. The industry's universal “people orientation” emerged as the dominant issue that requires particular leadership skills with regard to interpersonal relations and communications. The emergence of new technologies and changes among employees were identified as the two key industry trends that require changing leadership skills. The implications of these findings are discussed and areas for future research highlighted.     

Exploring Marketing Strategies for Culinary Tourism in Hong Kong and Singapore

This study focused on Hong Kong and Singapore and sought to explore culinary tourism development and marketing strategies and contents. The study also analyzed the framework of marketing strategies for developing culinary tourism from a resource-based theory perspective. The methodology primarily involved in-depth interviews with strategy planners on tourism boards and content analysis of academic documents and official publications on tourism as means for exploring marketing strategies for culinary tourism in Hong Kong and Singapore. The results showed that, although Hong Kong and Singapore do not have abundant natural resources to develop more diverse tourism experiences, they do have a diversified dietary and cultural background, and with a combination of tourism and creativity they could develop culinary tourism that is innovative, diverse and likely to attract attention. The public and private sectors could form strategic alliances to enhance the attractiveness of tourism through different marketing strategies and thereby present an image of the destination's culinary culture.     

Terrorism,Economic Uncertainty and Outbound Travel from Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of three consumer surveys conducted in Hong Kong examining and outbound travel frequency and future travel intentions. The surveys were conducted in December, 2000, October, 2001, some three weeks after the September 11th terrorist attacks, and in April/May 2002, thus enabling the researchers to track the immediate and medium term impacts of the 9–11 incident on outbound tourism. The study revealed that a dramatic softening in intentions to travel was reported, yet no apparent differences were noted in overall travel participation rates before and six months after the event. However, consumers have modified their travel activities, taking shorter trips and expressing greater concerns about the safety of travel. The study further reveals that consumer confidence in the safety of outbound travel is returning, but more enduring economic concerns are beginning to affect travel intentions.     

Medical tourism development in Hong Kong: An assessment of the barriers

The aim of this study is to determine the factors influencing the development of medical tourism in Hong Kong. A qualitative research method was adopted to collect data from representatives of private and public hospitals, government bodies, and medical institutions. The results reveal that policies and regulations, government support, costs, capacity problems, and the healthcare needs of the local community are the main barriers to the development of such tourism. Several strategies for lifting these barriers are suggested, such as new promotional activity policies, government action to encourage investment in the medical tourism market, and cooperative efforts by the hospitality sector and medical institutions to develop medical tourism products.     

Sexual Harassment in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Prudent restaurant managers and owners should be aware of new trends in their industry. One of the most recent trends or challenges that the restaurant industry is facing is that of sexual harassment lawsuits. As the cost of litigation and dollar amount of settlements increase substantially, restaurant managers and owners should take a proactive view at sexual harassment in Hong Kong from the perspective of their employees. Hong Kong today is no different than any other major city in the world with attorneys (Solicitors and Barristers) advertising on television and in newspapers, therefore managers and owners in the restaurant industry must realize the significance of a work environment free of sexual harassment. The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of restaurant employees in Hong Kong concerning sexual harassment.     

The Past,Present, and Future of Hospitality and Tourism Higher Education in Hong Kong

SUMMARY

Hospitality and tourism management programmes are widely available in Hong Kong. At present, there is no official publication on the history and development of higher education in hospitality and tourism management in Hong Kong. This paper aims to review the history and current status of hospitality and tourism higher education in Hong Kong, focusing on the programmes offered at sub-degree, degree, and post-graduate degree levels, and to explore future directions for its development.     

Identifying changes and trends in Hong Kong outbound tourism

Despite the numerous research endeavors aimed at investigating tourists’ preferences and motivations, it remains very difficult for practitioners to utilize the results of traditional association rule mining methods in tourism management. This research presents a new approach that extends the capability of the association rules technique to contrast targeted association rules with the aim of capturing the changes and trends in outbound tourism. Using datasets collected from five large-scale domestic tourism surveys of Hong Kong residents on outbound pleasure travel, both positive and negative contrasts are identified, thus enabling practitioners and policymakers to make appropriate decisions and develop more appropriate tourism products.     

Heritage tours and trails on foot in Hong Kong: towards a typology that crosses the tourist-local divide

Hong Kong's retrocession to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 initiated intense interest in cultural heritage on the part of divergently positioned actors, including activists, the state, and entrepreneurs. Heritage walking tours have proliferated, providing a wide range of examples suitable for comparison. This article develops a typology of heritage trails and tours in order to consider how they are situated in relation to the tourist economy and local context. Theoretically it builds on insights in new walking studies and debates in tourism and heritage studies on the ‘tourist-local divide.’ The article relies on qualitative research conducted in Hong Kong, including participant observation and interviews, and a review of various secondary sources. The typology distinguishes between government-generated, market-oriented, and community-based heritage walks. Three key issues are discussed: the ways that tours and trails develop, how they engage with official and unofficial heritage places, and how they reference urban issues including state-led urban renewal and redevelopment. The article argues that, while walking in general is a format that is suited to both tourist and local visitor engagement, some trails and tours reinforce dominant narratives of heritage and urban space, while others challenge them.     

香港赴澳门游客特征研究——与内地游客比较

本研究通过在澳门返回香港的轮船上以随机抽样调查的方式调查了香港到澳门旅游的游客348人.通过SPSS软件分析,揭示了香港赴澳游客的基本特征、行为模式和对澳门旅游设施的满意度.通过对比到澳门旅游的内地自由行游客和团客,本研究发现,香港游客同内地自由行游客的消费模式比较接近,同团客差距较大.本研究对预测内地游客未来的消费模式有较大的意义.     

Effect of cultural distance on tourism: A study of pleasure visitors in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the effect of cultural distance on pleasure visitors, mainly vacation overnight visitors, in Hong Kong. Secondary data on 10 source markets are extracted from the annual report of visitor profile 2014 published by Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). The data are compared to recognize the influence cultural distance can have on visitor profiles and trip characteristics, including travel patterns, expenditure, and satisfaction levels. Deteriorating effects ascribed to cultural distance are clearly observed in the following three important aspects: repeated visit, length of stay, and expenditure; however, these effects do not extend to all aspects. Therefore, cultural distance may be used to complement physical distance in order to explain the tourist flow, and it should be further studied.     

Energy use and management in hotels in Hong Kong

This paper reports on a study of energy use in 16 quality hotels in Hong Kong. An overview of energy use in these hotels is firstly presented, and this is followed by a detailed analysis of energy use in one of the 16 hotels. The overview indicates that the energy use situation in hotels in Hong Kong is very much diversified. The total energy use in a hotel is dominated by electricity, with the greatest portion for air conditioning because of sub-tropical climate. A detailed multiple variable regression analysis indicated that a number of hotel operating parameters as well as climatic condition can affect electricity, diesel and gas use in a hotel building. In order to achieve both operating cost saving and environmental protection, it is recommended that an energy management programme be established, and key elements of such a programme based on the experience of implementing energy conservation strategies in hotels in Hong Kong are highlighted.     

The Hong Kong tourist satisfaction index

This study develops a tourist satisfaction assessment system based on a dual-model framework and demonstrates its general applicability. The first model concerns tourist satisfaction and its key antecedents and consequences. Structural equation modelling is employed to investigate the relationships amongst the constructs in the theoretical framework, and is then used as a basis for the computation of sectoral-level tourist satisfaction indexes. The second model is designed to estimate an aggregate service satisfaction index and an overall destination satisfaction index using a multiple indicator and multiple cause approach. The framework is applied to a large dataset that represents six tourism-related sectors and seven major source markets of inbound tourism to Hong Kong.     

Inbound Travelers' Selection Criteria for Hotel Spas in Hong Kong

With a growing number of travelers enjoying spa experiences, it is vital that hotels understand their preferences. As Hong Kong has a high visitor inflow and is in the preliminary stages of hotel spa development, an examination of the selection criteria used by inbound travelers when choosing hotel spas should provide Hong Kong hoteliers with the information needed to further develop and refine their facilities. This study examines the selection criteria that inbound travelers use to gain insight into how demographic factors and travel characteristics affect their spa-related decisions. A measuring instrument was developed based on in-depth interviews of spa industry professionals and secondary data. The results reveal that relaxation, pampering, and beautification were the main reasons that people visited hotel spas; with the three most important major selection dimensions being therapists, price, and product and treatment types. Of the 28 selection criteria studied, professional skills, product and service knowledge, sense of privacy, range of facilities, and product branding were the most important attributes. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed here.     

Hong Kong Residents' Adoption of Risk Reduction Strategies in Leisure Travel

For decades risk has been identified as a major concern for traveling. Although some recent studies focused on studying consumers' perceived travel risks, only a few prior studies literally discussed consumers' risk reduction strategies in the context of travel-related services. To fill this gap, this study aims to investigate the travel-related risk reduction strategies that Hong Kong residents adopt to strengthen their confidence during leisure travel. This study also explores if travelers of different travel-related and sociodemographic characteristics adopt different risk reduction strategies. Among different risk reduction strategies—“purchase travel insurance,” “bring extra cash,” and “search for latest information about the destination”—are the ones which Hong Kong residents are likely to adopt when they travel for leisure. Results revealed that travel-related and sociodemographic characteristics influenced travelers' likelihood to risk reduction strategies differently. Specifically, travel experience of travelers, age, and household income displayed significant differences in the likelihood of adopting most of the risk reduction strategies.     

Hospitality Employees' Empowerment in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland

Abstract

This paper reports on a research project investigating the current and potential existence, implementation and levels of training in empowerment management styles in five international hotel groups in Asia. Initial findings suggest that empowerment is not going to be used as a management style in China for a long time. Reasons for this seem to be authoritarian management styles, culture, higher than average staff/customer ratios, employees who are not trusted, and an environment which discourages risk taking. However, in the East meets West culture of Hong Kong empowerment is starting to be introduced to a selection of staff in several international hotel chains.     

Travel demand and behavior of university students in Hong Kong

University students represent an emerging market for the travel industry. This paper reports the findings of a study on the travel behavior and travel patterns of Hong Kong university students. Using a questionnaire, a survey was conducted to identify student travel motives, their travel planning process and travel preferences. A total of 264 university students in Hong Kong were interviewed and data analyzed. The results indicate that to “Experience new and different styles”, “Take it easy and relax”, “Go to places I haven't been before” and “Outstanding scenery” were perceived as important motives in students' travel decision-making. Four factors with 24 attributes were identified. These factors were “Social relationships”, “Obtain new experience”, “Relax and enjoy” and “Cost of travel”. Based on the findings of the study, it was suggested that modifications to the existing tourism products and services and new product development were necessary in order to meet the demand of this emerging market.     

The impact of the Asian financial crisis on Japanese demand for travel to Hong Kong: A study of various forecasting techniques

The Asian financial crisis has drawn worldwide attention because of its significant economic impact on local economics, especially on the economy of a tourism‐dependent destination. Unfortunately, there have been very few articles about the relationship of the Asian financial crisis and tourism demand forecasting. This relative lack of prior studies on the Asian financial crisis and tourism demand forecasting is particularly true in the context of Hong Kong. This article reports on a study that utilized officially published data to test the accuracy of forecasts of Japanese demand for travel to Hong Kong, measured in terms of the number of Japanese tourist arrivals. Seven commonly‐used tourism forecasting techniques were used to determine the forecasting accuracy. The quality of forecasting accuracy was measured in five dimensions. Experimental results indicated mixed results in terms of forecasting accuracy. Overall, artificial neural network outperformed other techniques in three of the five dimensions.