Virtual MICE Promotion

ABSTRACT

Hong Kong and Singapore have been the leading cities for hosting MICE in Asia. Every year, thousands of events are held, both by local and international organizers, in Singapore and Hong Kong. Despite the significant economic contributions of MICE to a local economy, hospitality and tourism literature seldom analyzes Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of MICE promotion. The absence of published articles is particularly true in the context of virtual promotion. This paper reports on a study examining events promotion in the Web sites of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Singapore Tourism Board. The paper also analyzes the performance of the official Web sites in providing useful site selection information to event organizers and meeting planners. Empirical results of a content-based analysis indicate that the information provided by the Singaporean Web site is more comprehensive than its Hong Kong counterpart.     

Virtual Exhibitions

ABSTRACT

This case study is designed to provide readers with an overview of the format of a virtual event and the variety of options available to exhibitors. It focuses specifically on the Virtual GITEX 2001 event, which adopted a 3-dimensional virtual reality approach. On October 7, 2001, the virtual component of the Dubai World Trade Centre's largest and most successful exhibition, GITEX,¹ an information technology exhibition, was launched. The virtual exhibition featured 23 exhibitors, representing a mix of local and international companies, and includes Microsoft; Sanyo; Al Futtaim; Bayt.com; Bond Communications; and the UAE's telecommunications provider, Etisalat. The virtual exhibition, which can be accessed from the GITEX Web site at http://www.gitex.com requires a 3-dimensional viewer plug-in² that can be downloaded within 5 minutes. However, visitors have the option of viewing the exhibition in 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional format. The virtual GITEX exhibition can also be accessed directly through Virtex's Web site at http://www.virtexinternational.com/gitex. While the GITEX exhibition was developed using a virtual reality environment, Virtex can also create exhibitions using photo-realistic images incorporating panoramic photography, a virtual solution which Virtex says is typically preferred by exhibition organizers in industries that are not as technologically advanced or where there are bandwidth issues. The photo-realistic approach was the solution used for the International Jewellery Dubai virtual exhibition and the Middle East International Motor Show virtual exhibition. Two advantages of this approach are that it requires no plug-ins and accessibility is not constrained by limited bandwidth.     

Marketing timeshare in Singapore: An analysis of potential customers and present owners

Timeshare has gained recognition and acceptance in many Asian countries in recent years, but is relatively slow in gaining momentum in Singapore. Timesharing is a type of real estate ownership, which may include hotels, resorts, holiday villas, apartments and more, whereby ownership is split among individuals on the basis of time. This paper presents a study on the attitude of potential consumers on timeshare, and to investigate the current satisfaction level of timeshare owners in Singapore. Two questionnaires were designed to survey the attitude of potential consumers and the timeshare owners. The findings showed that potential consumers’ perception of timeshare is generally negative in Singapore. The main reasons for this negative perception include undesirable sales tactics used in the industry and negative media coverage which tainted the image of the industry. Developers should provide facilities at the resorts to help timeshare owners achieve their desire for rest and relaxation, amongst other reasons.     

Dimensions of Destination Images—The Relationship Between Specific Sites and Overall Perceptions of Place: The Example of Dubai Creek and “Greater Dubai”

ABSTRACT

The current research study attempted to identify to what extent the overall, generic image of a place is determined by, or related to, site specific locations within the destination. A series of answers to open-ended questions were elicited from 102 respondents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The data were analyzed using thematic and textual analysis using the neural network program CatPac?, a principal components analysis of dichotomous variables and Spearman rho tests of frequency ranking. The results from this study imply that two homogeneities of image are able to exist simultaneously in the visitors' minds, even though little correlation appears to exist between the images.     

Where the World Meets

Abstract

Singapore's meetings, incentive, convention and exhibition industry (MICE) attracts over 4,000 events and over 400,000 foreign participants every year. Since 1982, Singapore has been the top convention destination in Asia and today ranks among the top ten in the world. An assessment of Singapore MICE attractiveness shows that while the country has many strengths, particularly infrastructure and management, it has a number of weaknesses, as well, including limited entertainment and cultural attractions. Further analysis shows that much of Singapore's success has been based on regional meetings, rather than truly global events. As regional competition heats up, Singapore will need to better develop the global market. To do this Singapore is attempting to leverage its well developed transportation, hospitality and human resources, along with its role as a regional and global economic center.     

Looking for the Right Stuff

ABSTRACT

While some hospitality and tourism management programs face the challenge of filling available seats, others are blessed with the problem of over-demand. When demand exceeds supply, schools must consider placing enrollment caps on their student intake, which of course leads to the issue on how best to administer such a cap. This paper explains and empirically evaluates the selection process employed by Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) to learn if their efforts were effective in identifying the ‘best’ student candidates. The findings should be of value to administrators of programs with, or considering, enrollment caps.     

Managing the Aftermath of Terrorism

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of official travel advisories warning citizens about the dangers of travel to countries near to those which have experienced terrorist attacks. The issues are considered within a Southeast Asian context, using the example of the bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002 which had serious implications for its neighbours. Particular attention is given to the consequences for Singapore which found its previously unchallenged reputation for safety being questioned. Advice given by selected governments and the reactions of the relevant tourism authorities are reviewed, revealing the problems confronted by the industry in these circumstances and possible response strategies. Terrorism is shown to have the potential to damage place images and visitor arrivals beyond the particular location where it occurs, and travel advisories may contribute to this process with political repercussions.     

Issues Surrounding Asian Students Hospitality Management in Australia

ABSTRACT

Similar to many western nations, the education of international students by Australian universities has developed into a major industry. Since 1994, the number of international students studying for an Australian qualification has risen by 146% (IDP Education, 2001). The majority of these international students come from the traditional South East Asian countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia mainly to study Business and Economics programs. Growth in international student demand is forecast to continue to rise with countries such as China demonstrating significant growth (IDP Education, 2001).

This paper attempts to present an analysis of the major issues surrounding the education of Asian students. While mention is made of the predictable problems that all international students face when studying in a foreign country, the focus of this paper concentrates on Asian students' learning approaches and styles and associated problems. This paper evaluates research conducted among all Asian students studying in Australia; however, the focus of this paper is those Asian students who are studying Hospitality and Tourism Management at undergraduate level.

The paper identifies both positive and negative images of Asian students and highlights several misperceptions regarding Asian students that are commonly held by western academics. Finally, the paper presents an overview of what strategies might be adopted by western academics in order to make Asian students' experiences at western universities more enjoyable and successful.     

Effectiveness of the hotel websites in Singapore: A perspective from Business‐to‐Business (B2B) organisations

Internet marketing in hotels allows potential users to learn about the hotels, to tour hotel facilities and to compare prices among other benefits without directly interacting with a hotel representative. For some users, Internet is the first and only channel consulted when booking hotel accommodations. In the present age, Internet is increasingly becoming both an opportunity and a challenge for hotel marketers. The opportunity lies in reaching users directly through Internet sites. The challenge is to get the guests’ attention long enough to tell the marketers’ story (Connolly, Olsen and Moore, 1998). It has always been controversial as to how effective Internet marketing can be. Both firms and researchers have indicated that the measuring of effectiveness of Internet marketing is a multidimensional question. This study sought to examine the effectiveness of business‐to‐business Internet marketing in the hotel industry in Singapore through analysing the differences between the travel agents expectations of service and hotels’ understanding of those expectations. A total of 66 hotel websites in Singapore were scanned to give the features analysis. On the basis of the perception scores of 112 inbound travel agents, the study identified the gaps between the users and the website provider (hotel industry).     

The Competitiveness of International Meeting Destinations in Asia

Abstract

This study was designed to discuss marketing strategies for meeting destinations in Asia, especially for Seoul. To achieve this purpose, an e-mail survey was conducted with meeting planners and buying centers to investigate their perspectives on the site selection attributes and the performance of the five meeting cities in Asia-Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo. As the result of this study, there was a little difference of perspectives on the site selection attributes and destinations' performance between meeting planners and buying centers. These results could be used to develop competitive marketing strategies for each destination.     

Sustainable water demand management in the hotel sector: a policy network analysis of Singapore

Abstract

Water use in the tourism industry is a vital sustainability issue in destination development. Achieving sustainable water demand management (WDM) is challenging and requires destination stakeholder collaboration for effective participatory policymaking. Taking the WDM of Singapore’s hotel sector as a case, this article applies a policy network analysis to prevailing stakeholder collaboration based on public policy documents published between 2001 and 2015. Thirty-three interconnected organisational stakeholders and 76 policy domains were identified. Longitudinal analyses revealed structural changes in stakeholder collaboration during WDM policy development. The findings also indicate that the policy stakeholders of WDM are becoming increasingly diverse, and with this expansion in stakeholder participation, the collaboration network has evolved from being simple to remarkably complex. This article also discusses the relationship between policy stakeholders and policy domains, revealing that the responsibility, available resources, and interests of stakeholders are the main factors influencing their policy preferences in this discourse. The results enrich our understanding of inter-stakeholder relationships and the dynamic relational structure of interdisciplinary policy system.     

Singapore — tourism development plans

P.P. Wong of the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore, compares the recommendations of two reports on tourism development - Tourism Product Development Plan prepared by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Tourism Development in Singapore prepared by Pannell, Kerr, Forster. The reports provide a framework for Singapore government tourism planning aimed at rectifying the recent decrease in the level of visitor arrivals.     

Examining the link between meetings,incentive, exhibitions,and conventions (MICE) and tourism demand using generalized methods of moments (GMM): the case of Singapore

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of meetings, incentive, exhibitions, and conventions (MICE) on tourism demand in Singapore over a period of 10 years (2003–2012). Past studies have shown that MICE matters a great deal to host destinations but researchers have rarely conducted any empirical research to verify the significance of this sector to tourism demand. Our study intends to fill the gap by using Difference and System generalized methods of moments (GMM) estimators for dynamic panel models. Tourism demand is measured by tourist arrivals from the top 30 origins, and the influence of real income of the tourist generating country and real exchange rate is also examined. The GMM results show a significant positive relationship between tourism demand and MICE (with international meetings as proxies). Additionally, the findings reveal that tourism demand growth is significantly positive (negative) with respect to changes in income (relative prices). The coefficient of lagged tourist arrivals indicates a high level of habit persistence and revisiting.     

Human capital in the Dubai hotel industry: A study of four- and five-star hotels and the HR challenges they face

Dubai brands itself as an international leisure and business center and home to the luxury hotel market. While hotel growth has been, and continues to be rapid, little is known about hotel employees, their demographics or how they feel about working in this industry. This article reports the findings of what is the first review of Dubai hotel human capital, noting there are significant difference in workforce demographics to other countries, for example, it is male dominated, highly educated, and employees note positive levels of organizational social capital. It also highlights potential challenges going forward.     

Eco-tourism and luxury – the case of Al Maha,Dubai

This paper examines the issues raised by Al Maha in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a 27 km² resort within the 225 km² Dubai Desert Conservation Zone that offers luxurious accommodation in 40 suites, each with its own swimming pool. Its appeal is based on luxury, but it also offers insights into desert culture, heritage and the fauna and flora of the Arabian Desert. Much of that desert has become severely degraded by 200 years of camel grazing. Al Maha claims eco-tourism status through its desert regeneration programme. Is eco-tourism compatible with luxury? Given an official Emirati ecological perspective of desert greening, is desert reclamation consistent with wider UAE greening policies? Does ecologically motivated reclamation based on revenue from luxury-based tourism condone ecologically unaware tourist behavior?     

The comparative analysis of Hong Kong as an international conference destination in Southeast Asia

The purpose of this study was to analyze the competitiveness of Hong Kong as an international conference destination in Southeast Asia. Survey questionnaires were sent to the conference end-users, organizers, and venues in Hong Kong and Singapore to study the limitation of holding a large conference in Hong Kong, and the importance and satisfaction of site selection criteria for holding conferences in Hong Kong and Singapore. The pair mean t test was used to compare satisfaction differences on the selection criteria in Hong Kong and Singapore. The ANOVA analysis was conducted to identify the selection criteria perceived differently by end-users, organizers and venues. The finding showed that Hong Kong was perceived as less competitive than Singapore as an international conference destination. The study suggested that Hong Kong must overcome its weaknesses and develop competitive advantages to maintain itself as an ideal international conference destination in Southeast Asia.     

Satisfaction of Tourists with Public Transport: An Empirical Investigation in Dubai

Availability and suitability of public transport enhances the perceived attractiveness of a destination for tourists. Since few studies have investigated how public transport influenced the tourist experience, this study developed and empirically examined a parsimonious conceptual model of satisfaction for tourists using public transport services, with quality and value postulated to influence value, which in turn influenced satisfaction. Using data collected from a judgmental sample of 169 tourists using the Dubai metro, confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop unidimensional and valid measures, after which the study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Reputation (gamma = 0.99, p < 0.01) was found to influence satisfaction via value, while quality was unexpectedly not found to be a driver for value. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Cross Cultural Training for Expatriate Hotel Managers: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

Expatriate managers are regularly used to start up and manage international hotels in China. This paper looks at the cross cultural training (CCT) given to expatriate hotel managers in China to help adjust to living and working in a foreign environment. The findings show that even though there is a substantial amount spent on expatriate managers' compensation, the amount of CCT that is actually occurring is limited because CCT is undervalued.