A Comparison of National Tourism Policies
Why the reflection on tourism policies matters. The main goal of tourism development is creating and enlarging competitiveness and sustainability of destinations.
The government has an important role in terms of tourism development as it constitutes the basic framework in which private tourism businesses can operate and shape destination competitiveness.
The formulation of competitive tourism policies is the key to success for a destination as it provides guidelines for balanced relations between public and private tourism initiatives.
In the cases of Singapore and Hong Kong, the necessity of good tourism policies to enhance their competitiveness becomes obvious as new destinations like Cambodia and Vietnam with their exotic Asian metropols entry the Asian tourism market.
(Wong et al. 2008)
Literature and Task.
Wong, E.P.V., Bauer, T.G., Wong, K.K.F. (2008): A critical comparison of tourism policies of Hong Kong and Singapore. An Avenue to mutual learning. International Journal of Tourism Research. 10 (3). pp. 193-206.
Discuss the findings of the article with regard to your findings and experiences during your visit.
Summary of the Article The article discusses the tourism policies of Hong Kong and Singapore that are captured in the particular master plans.
The authors use qualitative interviews to detect the aspects of similarities and differences of tourism political approaches.
To stimulate improvements in terms of competitiveness and sustainability for both destinations, aspects are identified where one destination can learn from the other.
(Wong et al. 2008)
Similarities of the destinations Comparable history as former British colonies that the similar features of “East meets West” experiences in activities like shopping, dining, sightseeing. Similar stage of development of the economies • Tourist arrivals • Good infrastructure (international airports, public transportation, tourism related facilities like hotels & convention centers) • Economic competitiveness Appreciating und future oriented consideration of the tourism industry which becomes obvious in long-term master plans Tourism policy is seen as effective tool to manage economic and social issues. Both Destination aim to enhance their competitiveness and want to become the most important Asian city for leisure and business travellers.
(Wong et al. 2008)
Differences of the destinations
Different scope of vision
Different endowments of the business environments
Different appreciation of public private relationships
Different Scope of the Vision Hong Kong Expanding the Horizons
Singapore Tourism 21 – Vision of a Tourism Capital
„Establish and promote Hong Kong as Asia„s premier international city, a world-class destination for leisure and business visitors“
„Singapore does not only want to become an attractive destination, but also a location for tourism investments in and a vital link to the Asia Pacific region“
The aim to get an attractive destination becomes clear.
• •
very non-specific formulation aspired scope is not mentioned
Detailed descirption of the scope Singapore is striving for.
(Wong et al. 2008)
Different endowments to the business environments Hong Kong
Singapore
Market-centered approach to tourism development
Encourage investments in Singapore to develop new attractions and experiences
Aspects that may detain investors:
Aspects that may encourage investors:
• • • • •
• Strong fiscal position • High quality of labour force • Option to get tailor-made support in marketing and HR training through the Tourism Development Assistance Scheme (TDAS) • Business Headquarters Program which awards international companies that open up a regional headquarter in Singapore e.g with tax incentives
decreasing work force quality stagnant GDP grwoth budget deficits Decreasing political effectiveness Aspect of policy towards private enterprises got lost • No attractive incentives or tailor-made support for international investors • No transparency in decision making processes
(Wong et al. 2008)
Different appreciation of public private relationships Hong Kong
Singapore
• Market-led governance
• Strategic pragmatism oriented governance
• The private sector has to make the first step towards economic development.
• Tourism development is public-sector driven
• Laissez-faire policy
• Intervention of the government if market failured become obvious. • Dialogues between public and private sector are appreciated
• Tendency to react.
• Proactive approach
(Wong et al. 2008)
Catch a short glimpse of my personal experiences.
My experiences in Singapore • Not as clean as expected • Very expensive (EUR 20 for a pre-mixed Singapore Sling) • Many different cultures (languages heard, food)
• Good tourism infrastructure • Everything seems to be restricted and limited • Good service quality (e.g. JetStar openend a separate check-in gate at Changi Airport when we were recognized as a group) • It is easy to find your way through Singapore as English is an official language. • First experiences of a tropical rain shower
My experiences in Hong Kong • Colorful, busy, crowded • Mr. Wong showed us what Asian hospitality is all about. • Good public transportation system • The Chinese culture is dominant whereas the culture of the former British colonialists has disappeared virtually everywhere. e.g. you will hardly find a taxi driver that understands english. You should always carry a piece of paper with you with your destination in Chinese letters on it. • Multiple traditional markets that offer a unique and cheap shopping experience e.g. Ladies Market • Disappointing experience at Hong Kong Disneyland
Lessons to learn. Refering to the article and my personal experiences
What can Singapore learn from Hong Kong? Encourage entrepreneurship through educate the next generation of entrepreneurs
Hong Kong Polytec, School of Hotel and Tourism Management & Hotel Icon
What can Singapore learn from Hong Kong? Encourage entrepreneurship through retiring restrictions and create an environment to free the minds and to go beyond the existing
Everything seems to be restrived in Singapore whereas Hong Kong is very liberal especially in terms of transportation modes.
What can Singapore learn from Hong Kong? The Chinese Market will become one of the internationally most important ones. Due to Hong Kong being a SAR of China, it is well prepared for Chinese guests arriving with their specific needs in terms of transportation & orientation, language, food and willingness to spend money on shopping.
What can Singapore learn from Hong Kong? But Singapore seems to be very aware of the Chinese market as the availablity of Chinese guided tours at Singapore Night Safari and a special commercial of the STB for the Chinese market indicate. Nevertheless there is space for further improvements.
(STB 2012)
What can Hong Kong learn from Singapore? Proactive support of the the tourism industry and provision of subsidies e.g. the retiring of the prohibition of gambling to attract the international hospitality business Sands which builded the Marina Bay Sands that is nowadays one remarkable landmark of Singapore offering high-quality hotel and convention facilities
What can Hong Kong learn from Singapore? Visionary leadership of Singapore which makes the STB to think more like a cooperation than like a governmental institution. Potential needs of the future can be detected proactively.
(STB 2012)
What can Hong Kong learn from Singapore? Visionary leadership of Singapore with the dedicated focus on the customization of experiences to meet the human need of self-fulfillment.
The individual that may be an individual traveller or an individual tourism business with specific needs is in the center of interest.
(STB 2012)
What can Hong Kong learn from Singapore? Knowledge and consideration of the markets of India and the ASEAN that are markets with great potential in the future due to the increasing wealth of huge middle-classes in these countries.
(STB 2012)
What can Hong Kong learn from Singapore? Experiences of Singapore as tourism hub thanks to the Changi Airport with ist open skies policy and a dense net of global destinations served as illustrated below. Many tourists tend to plan a stop-over when traveling to long-haul destinations. Hong Kong increase the profits of this travel behaviour by stronger consideration of the airport as gate towards Hong Kong.
(Star Alliance 2012)
Conclusion.
Learn from each other but keep your uniqueness! Hong Kong and Singapore are both destinations that provide breath-taking experiences. At first glance, they seem to be side very similar but when taking a closer look the differences become obvious. I consider Singapore as well-structured melting pot of Western and Asian cultures that provides a wide range of different but high-quality tourism products. Hong Kong tends to be more vibrant which may derive from its bigger size compared to Singapore. Hong Kong is dominated by the Chinese culture and offers more divers tourism products and activities than Singapore.
The approach of mutual learning possibilities in terms of the tourism policies of Hong Kong and Singapore described in the article matches with my personal experiences. Nevertheless Singapore and Hong Kong should preserve their unique character which is besides the establishment of competitive long-term tourism policies a main part of destination competitiveness as well.
References & Picture Credits.
Pictures by Stefanie Dietrich and Daniela Aichner Star Alliance (2012):Singapore Airlines Network http://www.staralliance.com/assets/images/member-airlines/network/sq.jpg STB (2012): Presentation about the Activities of STB. 22.10.2012 Wong, E.P.V., Bauer, T.G., Wong, K.K.F. (2008): A critical comparison of tourism policies of Hong Kong and Singapore. An Avenue to mutual learning. International Journal of Tourism Research. 10 (3). pp. 193-206.
A Comparison of National Tourism Policies