Research Korner: Singapore Topics

Retail Industry

Strategic Management at UNIQLO   Introduction             Dubbed as Japan’s retail success story in the new millennium, UNIQLO is a 100% consolidated subsidiary of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd, a Japanese retail holding company. UNIQLO formed the portmanteau for ‘unique’ and ‘clothing’ as am emblem of creativity and individuality of Japanese apparel industry. UNIQLO offers fashionable and high quality clothing at reasonable prices, and was seized as an opportunity to establish a brand position domestically and internationally, combining all the facets of the business from product design to final sales and the operation of the 790 stores around the globe. Primarily offing for a highly brand conscious consumer group, UNIQLO envisions itself as a leading global casual wear company targeting high sales and profitability growth. For UNIQLO, such aim could materialize based on the established strategies such as low cost management, cheapest manufacture and marketing schedules and prioritizing customer requirements. Today, UNIQLO is described as the apparel giant Gap, Inc.’s counterpart based on the 4, 000% share price increase, making UNIQLO as Japan’s third largest clothing retailer. However, it is not always victory for UNIQLO; the subsidiary also has its own share of downturns especially on its international expansion. For instance, expansion programmes in the United Kingdom (UK) saw a tumultuous stumble in profits, forcing Fast Retailing to shut down 16 of the 21 UNIQLO stores opened, because of competition. Most recently, three UNIQLO stores in New Jersey were also closed because of economic slumps. Despite these facts, UNIQLO maintains the spirit and still believed that the brand has only but way forward. How UNIQLO will going to do such is central to this paper, focusing on the company’s strategic management. External, industry and competitor analysis as well as the internal environment will be addressed.   External Analysis Political Analysis             Political factors have direct impact on business conducts and operations. Decisions made by the affects the decision-making of retailers and could come in the form of policy or legislation. In Hong Kong, the ‘one country, two systems’ is the prevalent governance philosophy which endows the special administrative region with a high degree of autonomy and its capitalist economic system. Within a capitalistic and free market-oriented economy, retail companies make the majority of microeconomic decisions but they have to conform to specific agreements. Mainland and HK Closer Partnership Economic Arrangement (CEPA) and the US-China Textile Memorandum of Understanding are two examples of this. Labor and customary regulations as well as code of conducts are also complied into including China Social Compliance 9000 and US and EU quotas (2006).   Economic Analysis             Domestically and globally, businesses are also being affected by economic factors whereby a strong economy indicates positive results and weak economy signifies the opposite, affecting both businesses and consumers. Hong Kong’s gross domestic product is estimated at US$206.7bn with the service sector that contributes 90% of the total GDP. The region is also named as the world’s eleventh largest trading entity. Almost 50% of the total population is employed full-time and the unemployment rate has a continuous average decline by 4.1%, making disposition of income a possibility, a lower cost of living that is ( 2008). Spending is generally devoted for food, housing, healthcare, transportation, amusement, services and apparel. People nowadays are very particular with ‘investing in quality’ clothing thereby resume spending with premium apparel finds ( 2006).   Social Analysis Demography or the population characteristics may determine buying patterns and that understanding demographic changes within a particular region or place facilitates determining whether products and services would appeal to customers as well as the number of potential customers ( 2006, ). Hong Kong has a total of 6, 985, 300 population based on 2008 estimate and is continuously growing due to immigrant influx from Mainland. According to , people in HK and elsewhere have a growing interest in private labels. Consumers aspired for having private levels on everyday garments. Casual wear from HK which is known for good design and quality has a positive image on global consumers. Nevertheless, international brands are concentrated in high-end consumers while domestic brands are for low-end consumers (, 2006).   Technological Analysis             Technological innovations are a priority for the apparel retailing industry but it will remain as labor intensive as it is today. Boosting the industry’s productivity, increased in automation has been the recent trend but it is limited on specific functions, to which mostly require human intervention such as sewing and making patterns. Although there are computerized sewing machines that increase the productivity and reduce training time. Further, the uses of computer system software intended for the industry will be on making rough sketches, printing detailed designs and storing of information for easy retrieval. Hong Productivity Council made a report disclosing that the apparel industry could make sense of information technology (IT) if utilize for order processing, costing analysis, order tracking, material management, reporting and connectivity (2004).   Industry Analysis Porter’s Five Forces Analysis A) Threat of Entry              (2006, p. 43) point out that new entrants are the firms which have either recently begun operations or those that threaten to begin operations within an industry soon. Notably, the apparel industry is a buyer-driven industry where producers are considering buyer’s decision-making especially when brand names enter the picture. These buyer-centric industries have low barriers to entry mainly because of intense competition. Utilising brands as a market power source; however, this is a challenge for every clothing company. Building brand awareness and consumer loyalty is a costly endeavor since it involves advertising needed not only to promote the brand but also on sustaining awareness and loyalty. Strengthening brand names also requires that there are ‘quick response’ programs to increase revenues and manage risks. In the clothing business, mass customization has seen to be the most effective strategy. Therefore, the focus must be on minimizing the costs without sacrificing quality and to do this, managerial know how is a must in order to understand interactions with suppliers and consumers, to facilitate creativity and innovation and to maintain mobility in adapting to new market demands.   B) Threat of Rivalry             Either in home or host countries, apparels, accessories and merchandise will always have a competitor which usually fluctuates in size. The modern market trends for the apparel industry are globalization and intensified competition, increasing price and lower profit margin pressures, small quantity with high complexity orders, shorter lead times, multiple location operation, changing customer requirements and liberalization on textile and clothing quota that creates new market dynamics. Being responsive to these market trends shifts the focus of the apparel industry for more extensive product development and improvements at the least possible cost. Such condition forces companies to divert on product differentiation because of high switching cost. In an industry where products are deemed to be ‘equal’, the key sources of differentiation are brand image, reputation and prior existence.   C) Threat of Substitutes             Casual wear is very particular with loose-fit, comfortable and relaxed fit. Athletic or active wear was perceived to be the closest substitute to casual wear as manifested by the booming athletic wear industry. Typically worn as casual fashion clothing, active attires could provide deterrence in the industry. Moreover, the blurring demarcation on the casual clothing family could be also seen as an opportunity for substitutes. Specialized stores offer semi-casual, smart casual and business casual lines. Semi-casual clothes are less presentational than informal but are not as loose as casual dresses. Smart casual purports conservative looks but with harmony on colors, fabrics, shoes and accessories. Business casual, on the other hand, varies in definition but the common element is the collar. Realizing this, the bottom-line now is the price.   D) Threat of Suppliers             The prices and availability of commonly used fabrics such as cotton, blends, synthetics and wools might fluctuate significantly due to its dependence on demand, crop yields, weather, supply conditions, transportation costs, government regulations and economic condition among others. Quota is the major factor that affects the demand and supply of textile and fabrics. Even though the sale of raw materials is standardized, independent contractors, raw material suppliers, importers and apparel manufacturing firms could not isolate themselves from such scenario because of the prospective unsteadiness in the supply chain. As well, because of forward vertical integration, coupled with the low barrier to entry, suppliers could easily become rivals. In becoming threat of entry, suppliers could be also become a competitor to already established apparel manufacturers. In addition, contractors is also one of the threats when the demand of the labor increases, it will cause labor costs price inflation.   E) Threat of Buyers             Reaching more and diverse consuming group, the apparel industry is both a stable and unstable industry. Stable because quality price and quality products are the main element and unstable because there are many factors that affect both price and quality. In the point of consumption, for instance, there are ‘middle men’ such as the retail stores that offer an array of brands. In purchasing manufactured apparel, retail stores could have influence on making significant requirements and demands on their purchase, affecting prices. Though quality is inherent, prices would not be reasonable at all, and alternative clothing is readily available. This explains why apparel manufacturing companies are setting up their own stand along stores which will cater to their own produce. Important is that apparel stores must not fall dependent on s specific class of customer. Buyers are increasingly appearing to prefer above standard apparel with a much lower cost, making apparel less differentiated. When selling directly to consumers, buyers would incur a significant portion of their dispensable cash. Same goes with retail store, they purchase apparel at the least possible final cost, but adds up to prices of apparel.   Competitor Analysis Local Competitors             There are three competitors for UNIQLO: Bossini, Giordano and Muji. Bossini International Holdings Limited is an apparel brand owner, retailer and franchiser nestled in Hong Kong. From its onset in 1987, Bossini continued to grow both domestically and internationally. Today, the global distribution network is comprised of 551 directly managed and franchised outlets in Mainland, 322 export franchised outlets, 178 directly managed outlets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia and 1, 051 outlets in 20 countries. Taking pride on its Bossini brand that is comfortable, easy to mix-and-match, colorful and energetic like the ‘Family-Fit’ brand, Bossini was able to cater to various consumer requirements in a value for money fashion ( 2006/2007).             The strength of the brand and the people was drawn from the seven practices: face reality, keep it simple, act with the speed of light, set stretch goals, drive quality, create and sustain a learning organisation and keep the A, nurture the B and discard the C. Through this set of practices, Bossini puts emphasis on quality, efficiency and profitability as a source of competitive edge. The company is also continuously building brand awareness by means of innovative cross-regional marketing activities. In enhancing its supply chain, Bossini shorten the product cycle from design to store and will continue to build string ties with them in a proactive manner. Building up an IT system is a strategy meant to drive future growth and profitability. Though the company deals with closure of unsuccessful outlets whenever necessary to divert their attention to areas which needs a closer concentration and with participating in broad campaigns and dual-branding to promote the products and to expand market reach, Bossini is more focused on its four core markets.               Established in 1981, Giordano is one among the popular and established casual apparel retailer in Asia Pacific Region which employs about 11, 000 staff with over 1, 895 shops operating in 30 territories worldwide. From its restructuring from 1986, the company prepared for international expansion, which was made possible by the initial success in Hong Kong, Mainland and neighboring countries such as Taiwan and Singapore. Known as the most successful homegrown retail stores, Giordano is a pioneering company that participated in drafting of code of practice in the retailing scene and introduced innovations such as the total shopping experience where customers are greeted individually in the doorstops and bade goodbye unto when leaving the store.             Envisioning itself in making people feel good while looking great, the company’s main strategy is its ‘For the People’ philosophy wherein quality, knowledge, innovation, service and simplicity are at the core. As an apparel of choice, Giordano is also committed in providing simplicity of design, quality workmanship, attentive customer service and value-for-money, allowing the company to strongly build its own loyal following ( 2008). Though the four brands – Giordano Ladies, Giordano Concepts, Giordano and Giordano Junior – are constantly profitable, the weakness is that Giordano has a limited range of products and that consumers may grew tired of the existing concepts.                  better known as, is an outgrowth from The Seiyu, Ltd. In becoming a separate brand, develops range of apparel, household goods and food that takes pride on being functional, simple and of high quality. Literally means ‘no brand’, the over 700  products observes the philosophy of simplicity. Primarily purporting an individualistic and diversified lifestyle, follows three processes that is said to be the reason for proving good quality products at lower prices. These are selection of materials, streamlining processes and simplification of packaging. The company’s emphasis on preventing materials wastage and improvement of essential product quality as well as time and labor optimization are the key in achieving operational effectiveness and efficiency. The selection of materials is a very important stage for  where suitable raw materials are the main concern. Bulk buying is a strategy wherein quality is the indispensable criterion, underpinning the possibility of producing high quality, low prices products. Standards at manufacturing stages are also under close scrutiny in order to eliminate waste and reduce cost. When it comes to packaging, sticks to the simplicity philosophy, bearing only product related information and the price tag (Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.).   International Competitors             Gap, Inc. and United Colors of Benetton are the two international competitors for UNIQLO. Gap, Inc. has been officially incorporated in 1988 as a global specialty and outlet store which offers casual apparel, accessories and personal care products. Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperlime are the four primary brands.

Retail Industry

Strategic Management at UNIQLO Introduction Dubbed as Japan’s retail success story in the new millennium, UNIQLO is a ...

Organizational Behavior foundation Theories

Organizational Behavior Textbooks Organizational Behavior: Foundation, Theories, and Analyses             This textbook by John Miner is one of comprehensive and useful textbooks that tackle the issues regarding the different aspects of organizational behavior or OB. The book tackles the history of application of OB as well as different studies and principles that are related to the said subject such as philosophy and psychology. Furthermore, the book also focuses on the development of OB from the past studies up to the present. Above all, it focuses on the different theories that are related to the different aspects of OB such as motivation, leadership, systems concept of organization and bureaucracy-related concepts. All of the said concepts were tackled using the first and second-generation of OB.             Just like, the textbook of McShane & Travaglione, this book focuses on the different trends as well as current developments in terms of the application and aspects of OB like globalization as well as technology. On the other hand, this book can give additional information regarding the different theories from different generations regarding the studies of the OB. This can help those people who are working in Singapore to know more regarding the different aspects that are connected with the OB that will help them to understand their differences in terms of cultures and other needs. Furthermore, this text will give students of OB with depth information regarding the evolution and development of OB, as well as the different important theories that are connected with it. Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding the Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational Behavior             This textbook edited Kanfer focuses on emotion as the main aspects that can affect the issue of OB. It tackles the issues regarding the impact of emotions at work. Furthermore, it also tackles the basic of the different emotion models, together with the measures as well as the individual differences. Above all, it tackles the different issues regarding the impact of emotion in the different rules and regulations as well as policy making inside an organization. It also tackles the impact of emotions regarding the customer service as well as the relationship of the work-family interface.             The content of this textbook is related to the textbook of McShane & Travaglione, in a way that it focuses on the importance of emotions in the aspect of OB. Furthermore, it also focuses on the individualism and the aspect of team work. However, this textbook gives a depth presentation and explanation of the impact of emotion in the performance of each individual as well as the relationship of the individuals in a group. Furthermore, this book will give more theories and explanations regarding the different problems that are connected with the emotions and the different solutions that can be applied.             This book can help different organizations and individuals in Singapore, more particularly, those who are working with multi-cultural organization, to know more regarding the importance of emotions in workplace. Furthermore, this can help different management to consider emotions in their policy and decision-making process. On the other hand, this study will give the students knowledge regarding the impact of emotion in overall performance of an individual and how it can affect team work as well as customer relationship. Managing Organizational Behavior             This book by Ronald Sims offers a wide range of topics regarding the different aspects about OB. It focuses on the impact of perception, attitudes as well as personality in the OB. Aside from that, the books also tackles the different issues and aspects about the OB with connection to each individual as well as groups. Furthermore, it also tackles the different problems the solutions that can be encountered by OB.             This book is connected with the textbook of McShane & Travaglione, in a sense that it gives importance on the connection of the OB with the customer relationship of different companies and organizations. Furthermore, just like all of the previous books that have been reviewed, this book also focuses on the different motivational factor that can affect the working performance of individual as well as group. On the other hand, unlike McShane & Travaglione, Sims gives focus on the different aspects of communications and how it can help to solve different problems that are associated with emotions, attitudes, personality and other aspects of OB.             Unlike, the first two books, this book focuses on the different problems that can be encountered as well as solutions that can be done in order to solve those problems in OB. This can help different businesses and organizations in Singapore in managing their OB, as well as helping to manage the human resource and relationship of different stakeholders. Furthermore, it can help the students with different ideas regarding the possible problems that they can encounter in the real world as well as the different solutions that can be applied and implemented in order to solve it. Journals Organizational Behavior in the New Organizational Era             This journal by Denise Rousseau focuses on the different changes in the organization that can impact the different aspects of OB. Furthermore, the study pointed out the new era in the organizational research due to the different aspects such as globalization and technology. In addition, the study focuses on the new employment relations and the different employment arrangements as well as other transitions. The study also tackles different aspects of motivation such as accessing rewards and its allocations, performance measurement and management, as well as the relationship of goal setting and self-management. The study also gives importance on the changing needs of organizations in terms of communication such as the organizational learning and the information processing.             Just like McShane & Travaglione, Rousseau, focuses on the different development and changes that affects the entire management of OB. It tackles the issues of technology as well as globalization or the existence of different culture. Furthermore, it also give emphasize on the different organizational change, together with the individual changes. On the other hand, this study will help to show the different aspects regarding the organizational learning as well as the aspect of self-management. This study will help those individual and groups in organizations and businesses in Singapore regarding the different aspects of self-management, in order to improve their individual performance. Furthermore, it will also give more information regarding the different aspects of motivation, particularly in financial rewards. This will support the different ideas from Sims, regarding the condition in the real world that can help those students of OB. Organizational Behavior: Affect in the Workplace             This journal by Arthur Brief and Howard Weiss focuses on the study regarding on the impact of the organizational behavior in the working environment. Just like the textbook of McShane & Travaglione, the study also focuses on the history or the development of studies regarding on the impact of emotions and feeling of employees in the working environment. The study also focuses on the different aspects regarding the affective status of job satisfaction. Above all, the different factors regarding the production of different moods and emotions at workplace, different stressful events and conditions at work, leadership, work group characteristics, as well as the physical settings were all discussed.             This study can help different management of different organizations and businesses in Singapore in knowing the different aspects that can impact the job satisfactory, and eventually the overall performance of their employees. This study will give the students more ideas regarding on how the working environment can affect the employees’ thoughts, feelings as well as actions, and likewise. Furthermore, it will also give depth discussion of the different aspects of the working environment such as the physical, or the design, location and material aspects in the working station; and the emotional aspects such as the leadership, events and conditions, work group characteristics as well as the reward and punishment system. Organizational Behavior             This journal byfocuses on the different review regarding the different studies and books about OB. And just like McShane & Travaglione, Wilpert, also focuses on the different theoretical development of OB as well as the different cultural factors that are associated with the OB. It also gives importance on the different organizational symbolism like myths and stories in the organization theory. Furthermore, it also gives emphasis on the different aspects of the organizational climate such as structural, perceptual, interactive as well as cultural. The study also focuses on motivation in the financial aspect in terms of performance feedback, social control potential as well as purchasing power. It also shows issues regarding leadership, control as well as power.             This study can help those organizations and businesses in Singapore because it tackles the different hazardous work systems that must be prevented in order to maintain good relationship with the employees and staffs. The said study is connected with the different aspects such as emotions, feelings and more importantly culture. Furthermore, this can help the students of OB regarding the different perspective of different authors regarding the impact of cultures and emotions in the management of OB. It will also give addition information to Rousseau about the organizational learning.        Internet Sources Historical Background of Organizational Behavior             This online article prepared by Edward Wertheim focuses on the historical development of the different theories and studies regarding the OB. It contains four categories of OB theories development which is consists of: Taylorism and Scientific Management; the Human Relations Movement; Theory X and Theory Y; and the Schools of Thought regarding the Organizational Behavior. This article provide the basics and backgrounds information regarding the historical aspects of OB.             Just like McShane & Travaglione, Wertheim also focuses on the importance of motivation in the OB. On the other hand, Wertheim article give more emphasis on the different important motivational theories that are important in improving the performance of employees. This article will help different organizations and businesses in Singapore regarding the different aspects that must be considered in order to keep the enthusiasm of employees in working as well as to bring out the best of skills and abilities of each and every employee for the sake of improved overall performance. Furthermore, this article will give the students the idea regarding the important motivational theories that must be considered in managing OB. Organizational Behavior             This online article by Don Clark focuses on the different basic information regarding the OB such as its definition and topics related to it like human behavior, change, leadership and teams. Furthermore, it also provides information regarding the different elements of organizational behavior and models of organizational behavior. It also gives emphasis on the social systems, culture as well as the individualization. Clark also offers a preview regarding the organization development that is associated with the quality of work life, action learning and change.             Unlike Wertheim, Clark focuses on the basic of OB, and other information that are related to it. Furthermore, like McShane & Travaglione, Clark also gives emphasis on the different changes that are associated with OB. This article will give more information regarding the different basic or raw information regarding the OB like its elements and models. The said information will be helpful for organizations and businesses in Singapore as well as students of OB regarding the different basic information regarding OB. Above all; it will serve as a helpful start for those who are not that familiar with OB. Conclusion             Organizational Behavior or OB is one of the most talked-about issues in terms of management and human resource. There are many aspects and information that are related with it, and this varies from personality, emotion and feelings, group relationship, motivation, attitudes, and other psychological and management aspects. The textbook of McShane & Travaglione had been able to show the different application of OB by using different case studies. However, there are other important and depth information that are needed to be considered in order to fully understand the OB. Using all of the resources that have been mentioned in this paper, there are different and new information that had helped the author to understand more regarding OB. One of this is the historical development of OB as well as the different theories that are related to it, such as motivation. Furthermore, personality and other psychological aspect of an individual can greatly impact the physical and emotional working environment, and vice versa. Team work of group relationship is also an important aspect in OB. In addition, culture is considered as one of the most important aspects that must be considered in any working relationship in any organization and business. The said aspect is important due to the growing number of multinational companies and multi-cultural companies.             Communication plays an important role in managing the organizational behavior. This can be done by managing effective communication channel and medium that can help to lessen the different negative impact of cultural differences.

Organizational Behavior foundation Theories

Organizational Behavior Textbooks Organizational Behavior: Foundation, Theories, and Analyses This textbook by John Mine...

Tourism and Hospitality and Entrepreneurship

Part A – Tourism and Hospitality               As Rhodes Espinoza put it, in order to fully comprehend the growth of a tourist destination, comprehending the elements that relate thereby influence the increase of tourist to a certain place. As such, Singapore’s tourism system will be reviewed 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 is a major industry in the country, attracting millions of tourists each year. Channel News Asia, for instance, reported that in 2007 Singapore has a total of 10.3 million visitors. The new high visitor arrivals in the country are perceived to be because of Singapore’s positive economic growth and rising disposable incomes coupled with well-designed strategic advertising and tactical promotions. Basic tourists drawer include: shopping, arts and entertainment, island resorts, nature sight-seeing, dining, night-life, tourists events, language, accommodation and transportation.      Singapore’s tourism             Tourism statistics report of 2006 revealed that the year was indeed a record-breaking year for Singapore’s tourism sector where tourism receipts and visitor arrivals both achieved an all time high; the former with $12.4 billion (+14%) and the latter with 9.8 million (+9%). Figures also showed that the total visitors day amounted to 33 million while the average length of stay remained at 3.38 days. With this said, the increasing positive performance of the hotel industry is expected whereby new records were set for average occupancy rate (+1.4%), average room rate (+20%) and room revenue (+24%). The report also noted that Asia remained to be an important source market for Singapore as it contributes 73% of the total number of visitor arrivals. Moreover, all facilities and services received average ratings ranging from 5.4 to 6.5 out of the maximum rating of 7. However, such rating is lesser than the average point vis-à-vis the previous year by –0.3 points (Annual Report on Tourism Statistics, 2006).   Traveler Generating Regions In simper terms, 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 Singapore is a unique city that attracts tourists of varying age and appeals to all generations and interests. Singapore too is a stop over points of long haul flights to various destinations such as Asia or Australia and from Europe or Americas. As such, the tourism within the country is increasing steadily as the number of flights was elevated. There are several airlines which now offer special package deals on stop over holidays in the country. In 2006, the top ten visitor-generating markets are Indonesia, China, Australia, India, Malaysia, United Kingdom, South Korea, USA, Philippines and Japan, which accounts for 51% of the total visitor arrivals. South Korea (+24.9%), China (+20.9) and Philippines (20.7%) are three among the major markets.   Transit Route Regions 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. Knowing that a portion of the total expenditure of visitors is devoted to shopping (+13.0%), I can say that the primary activity in Singapore is, of course, shopping. Fashion and accessories accounted for the biggest share with 32% and was also the most popular item (40%), as according to the 2006 report because of the shopping belt in the place located in the Orchard Road district. VivoCity also attracted million of visitors since its 2006 opening (Rahim, 2006).   A Singaporean visit would not be completed without visiting Arts District in the country including Central Arts District, Chinatown Arts Belt, Dempsey and Tanglin, Little India and Riverside. There are also many art museums such as Asian Civilisations Museum and Singapore Art Museum and also theaters that boast for its marvelous architecture. A famous island resort Sentosa as well as the Underwater World aquarium is another major tourist spot in the place. Parks and projects that features natural tropical environment are also inexistence which included Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, Singapore Botanical Garden and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Nightspots are also popular in Singapore with Boat Quay and Clarke Quay as the primary locations. Finally, throughout the year, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) organises events to attract more tourists such as Chingay Parade, Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Garden Festival and Singapore Food Festival.          Tourist Destination Regions 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. Singapore is quite a small country, with one region which is the city itself. Several flows of tourism attracted to Singapore thereby many people are visiting the place as a stop over location. Singapore is also enveloped in the multiple destination area loop, making it a favorite destination especially for young people around Southeast Asia. Singapore then is both a destination to tourists and at the same time a stop over setting, though both aspects provide Singapore immense benefits in terms of total number of visitors.       Positive and negative impacts of tourism in Singapore             Tourism plays a central role in the Singapore economy, and the government has high willingness in employing an intervention strategy whenever a cause threatens the sake of the tourism industry. Ooi Can (2005) argued that aside from the economic benefits there are several other ways that the industry affects Singapore and the Singaporeans. Specifically, the tourism industry gave birth to problems which include traffic and parking, pollution, wear and tear of heritage and price inflation that endangers the purchasing decisions of the local people. As the various aspects of Singapore are increasingly becoming commodified and touristified, the value of local industries are declining such as the handicraft that had witnessed mass trinketization (as cited in Ooi Can, 2005). This is to say that tourism is in a way superficial.               The author also reminded, on the other hand, that the social impact of tourism is not necessarily negative. The issue, however, is that creating a balance between the positive and negative impact of tourism are often perceived with political and ideological underpinnings. Ooi Can (2005) states that the tourist consumption of local politics is often implicit, aiming at attaining tourist trust and confidence with reference to tourism policy. As such, it appears that tourism is important not only for economic development, but also for governments when they want to claim international support for their policies. Antother issue is central on the re-branding of Singapore, referring to STB’s concept of Singapore which is then distributed and embedded on the local and tourists psyche. Striking a balance therefore requires the participation and negotiation among the tourism stakeholders. The more pressing issue is that "Uniquely Singapore" is a response to the manifestation of modernity and Westernization in Singapore (Ooi Can, 2005).   Such stakeholders comprises of residents, industry, cultural institutions, tourism attractions, tourists, politicians, and others. The rationale behind this is to come up with adapting the own version of balanced tourism development. There are specific reasons for this. First is the fact that tourists had become a central figure in the local life and so there is the necessity to relate the host country with the home country. In this process, there will be the sense of ownership and sense of identity and exchange of culture could happen. Second is the fact that the word Singapore has been synonymous to tourism. Celebrating ethnic identities despite the modernised and touristifed Singapore would be possible. Tourism agendas must be therefore embedded on Singaporean culture and tradition. Finally, Singaporeans must be empowered to make choices and be given responsibility to their actions. Likewise, the government should support local businesses.   Managing the impacts of tourism             Sustainable tourism wherein the target is to maximised the benefits of tourism and minimised the negative impacts is a concept that the Singaporean tourism model must engage in. Tourism has physical-ecological, sociocultural and economic political impacts, and the management of these must be sought by the tourism managers. One way to effectively manage the impacts of tourism is through identifying the various forms of tourist expenditure and how they affect the local economy and people. The extent to which tourist expenditure circulates around the local economy affects the livelihood and income of the nationals while also creating employment opportunities and encouraging entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, the social and cultural impact of tourism could be managed on the basis of continuous monitoring of family relationships, collective lifestyles, safety levels, moral conduct, traditional ceremonies and community organisations, creative expressions, value systems and individual behaviour. Doxey’s Index of Tourist Irritation is a way to find out about the issues. Likewise, intervention strategies are therefore important in managing the impacts and then established guidelines that will govern the conduct of mass tourism (Page, 2007).     Recommendations What STB could do is to measure tourism in the place. Tourism measurement will enable Singapore to further understand why and how significant it is for Singapore’s economy, particularly in terms of balance of payments. Tourism is an invisible export that generates foreign currency and income. Measuring tourism will also assist the government planners and policymakers to anticipate the type of infrastructure and services that tourism requires. The process also encourages Singapore government, with emphasis on STB, to deliver tourism strategies by means of making decisions about what type of action is needed in developing more tourism businesses and entrepreneur (Page, 2007, p. 15).   Another sure way of managing impacts of tourism is through examining the need for impact research and management. STB could, if possible, established an appropriate baseline against which to measure the existing and future changes induced by tourism. Or better yet, the STB should devise a monitoring and mitigation measures to reduce adverse effects. The visitor management scheme must be also revisisted so that it can be aligned to impact analysis.      Conclusion             Tourism is a major industry an economy booster in Singapore. Year after year, Singapore welcomes millions of arrivals, putting the ciyt-country in the realm of the tourism context in Asia. Major tourism activities involve shopping, arts and entertainment, island resorts, nature sight-seeing, dining, night-life and tourists events, with shopping as the primary activity. Singapore is a typical stop over location. TGRs mostly come from Indonesia, China, Australia, India and Malaysia. As such, Singapore is perceievd to be an important element of the multiple destination area loop.     References ‘Annual Report on Tourism Statistics’ 2006, Singapore Tourism Board, Research and Statistics Department, Planning Division, retrieved on 16 December 2008, from http://app.stb.gov.sg/Data/pages/12/b53b3a3d6ab90ce0268229151c9bde11/annual_report_2006.pdf. Leiper, N 1995, Tourism Management, TAFE Publications, Collingwood, Victoria. Ooi Can, S 2005, ‘State-civil society relations and tourism: Singaporeanizing tourists, touristifying Singapore’, SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. Page, S 2007, Tourism Management: Managing for Change, Butterworth-Heinemann.   Rahim, F A 2006, ‘Newly opened VivoCity mall attracts nearly a million shoppers’, Channel News Asia.    Rhodes Espinoza, A R n.d., ‘Understanding Tourist Destination Grwoth Through a Systems Approach’.   Part B – Entrepreneurship             Entrepreneurship could be found in the literature basically describing business processes. In the forefront of commercial is whether entrepreneurship has a unique entrepreneurial function or simply a form of management. The term entrepreneur originated from the French word entreprendre which literally means ‘to undertake’. Within the business context, entrepreneurship means to start a business. In a much simpler sense, entrepreneurship basically means to initiate new commercial enterprises.   On the one hand, it means the dynamic process of creating incremental wealth by individuals who assume the major risks in terms of equity, time and/or career commitment or provide value for some product or service. On the other, entrepreneurship is defined as the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the accompanying financial, psychic, and social risks, and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary and personal satisfaction and independence. According to Joseph Schumpeter, define the term with emphasis on innovation such as new products, new production methods, new markets and new forms of organisation.   The first company to be considered is Atlas Sound & Vision Pte Ltd. Simply Atlas, the company is considered to be a sample of entrepreneurship because it is a clear story that tells how a young man revived his family business by means of tuning in to the times. Mr. Michael Tien shared that there are three key success factors of Atlas Sound & Vision: premium products, strong customer focus and good staff. The history of Atlas has its own ups and downs. It started as a record-lending shop called The Record Library in 1962. The owners Mr. and Mrs. Alex Tien opened yet another shop called Atlas Sound shortly after three years. The business grew steadily with gross amounting to $3.8 million. However, the economic downturn had its toll on the business up to its closure in 1886. That same year as well his son Michael, then 21, opened his own business of retailing audio equipment named Atlas Hi-Fi.   In 2003, Michael saw a niche of providing audio solutions to corporate clients; Atlas penetrated the market including hospitality and institutions. An audio-visual company today, Atlas Sound & Vision is most known for bringing Bose sound systems in the place. I considered this as an entrepreneurship simply because Atlas Sound & Vision is an epitome of a revitalisation process of a mature organisation, an endeavour undertaken to respond to identified opportunity. According to Carland et al (1984) an entrepreneur is characterized principally by innovative behaviour and will employ strategic management practices in the business (cited in Furnham 1999, p. 168). Provided that entrepreneurship also seeks raising capital to build the business, Michael Tien did the same thing when he approached SPRING in 2005 and receive funding help to apply for ISO 9000 certification.      Another entrepreneurship story is that of Seksun Way with Dr. Felix Ong in the foerefront. Seksun Corporation Limited was handed to Dr. Ong in 1982 from a relative, which was then in bad shape. The reputation of Seksun then was small, unknown and with no track record, exacerbated by the fact that the successor, Dr. Ong, knew little about precision engineering. Nevertheless, he was determined to change the direction of the company. What he did was to visit a multinational company with high hopes to make sale. He was made to wait at the reception area of the purchasing manager’s office; ending the day with no negotiations with the manager at all. At one time, he successfully brought back a job only to discover that the machines would not be able to perform the work. What makes Dr. Ong a real entrepreneur is his high spirits and being a risk-taker. As such, Seksun under Dr. Ong was initially broke, but through him also, the company become profitable.    From a personal standpoint, Dr. Ong is an emblem of a true entrepreneur whereby he was able to organise, manage and assume business risks associated with Seksun operations. Schumpeter (1966) one of the pioneers in the study of entrepreneurship believed that an entrepreneur acts as a motivating force that facilitates changes in technology and a driving force behind economic development. Entrepreneurs also have a high need for achievement (McClelland, 1962), and this is what is really present in Dr. Ong. He wanted to be suuceesful despite the needs to beat a great deal of adversities. Dr. Ong, as an entrepreneur, understands that he needs to rake risks that can be handled through his or her own efforts (Miner et al, 1989).   Between the two stories, I consider Atlas Sound & Vision Pte Ltd. as the more plausible example of true entrepreneurship. Atlas exhibits entrepreneurship as the process of creating value inside a company by combining resources to take advantage of an opportunity. Atlas has been also true to the definition of entrepreneurship as the process that takes place in different environments and settings that causes changes in the economic system through innovations brought about by individuals who generate or respond to economic opportunities that create value for these individuals and society.   In sum, entrepreneurship does not only focus on the aspect of business but also on the entrepreneur. Nonetheless, entrepreneurship is an individualistic concept and cannot be generalised although entrepreneurs could adhere into best practices of entrepreneurship. Based on the examples provided, entrepreneurship, despite the debates regarding its legitimacy, is more reactive than proactive. Proactivity, on the other hand, should be present among the entrepreneurs.     Reference: Carland, J., Hoy, F., Boulton, W. and Garland, J. (1984). Differentiating Entrepreneurs from Small Business Owners: A Conceptualisation.            Academy of Management Review, 9, 354-359.   Furnham, A. (1999). Personality at Work: The Role of Individual Differences in  the Workplace. London: Routledge.   McClelland, D. (1962). Business Drive and National Achievement. Harvard             Business Review, 40, 99-101.   Miner, J., Smith, N. and Bracker, J. (1989). Role of Entrepreneurial Task  Motivation in the Growth of Technologically Innovative Firms. Journal of             Applied Psychology, 74, 554-560.   Schumpeter, J. A. (1966). Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper and Row.

Tourism and Hospitality and Entrepreneurship

Part A – Tourism and Hospitality As Rhodes Espinoza put it, in order to fully comprehend the growth of a tourist destina...

The Impact of Individual Visit Scheme on Hong Kong Tourism Industry

Chapter 1 The Problem and Its Background   In this chapter paper, the rationale, significance of the study, and scope and limitations of the study are presented. Moreover, the objectives of the study and the statement of the problem are formulated. Here, vital concepts, questions and assumptions are stated.   1.1 Rationale of the Study             Tourism is one of the recreational practices an individual undertakes. People who exercise tourism are called tourists. According to  (2005) due to the fact that tourism is now one of the most popular recreational activity of people all over the world, in the year 2004 around 763 million tourists arrive in various parts of the world. Tourism plays a vital and crucial role in the economy of any country because the income and profit that is being obtained by the utilisation of products and services of the tourists will generate taxes which can be levied to the government. In addition, tourism provides employment and aids in the development of the economy of the nation. According to  (2000) tourism is not just a recreational and decorative activity but instead tourism correlates centrally to the modernity in numerous dimensions such as politics, moral, economical and technological.             In Hong Kong, tourism was regarded as one of the important sector of their economy. Actually, Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations in the world and the tourism industry is one of the most important aspects in the economy of Hong Kong.  According to the  (2007) the industry held another record last 2006 in which more than 25 million tourists arrived in Hong Kong. In order to maintain the number of tourist arrivals in Hong Kong, the tourism department plans, develops, and audits the possible competitive destination.             Hong Kong government gave efforts to enhance their tourism industry.  Actually, Hong Kong created the Individual Visit Scheme in order to increase the number of tourist visitors. In Hong Kong tourism history, the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong from March to June 2003 resulted in a sharp drop in the number of both Mainland and overseas visitors and the creation of Individual Visit Scheme was designed to allow travellers from Mainland China to visit Hong Kong and Macau on an individual basis.   1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Study             While the background of the study gives information regarding tourism and Hong Kong, the research also needs to have its own aims and goals that must be followed for the completion of the study as well as the integration of the information that will be gathered based on the research questions. At the end of the study, there is the need to ensure that each of the objectives is met in order to guarantee that the study has managed to gain the information that can garner for the formulation of the conclusion.               As such, the objective of the study will be thus: <li class="MsoNormal"> To be able to assess the current status of economy of Hong Kong.</li> <li class="MsoNormal"> To assess the perception of the respondents regarding the current status of tourism industry in Hong Kong.</li> <li class="MsoNormal"> To investigate and clarify the effect of Individual Visit Scheme on Hong Kong Tourism industry.</li>               In essence, this study aims to integrate all these information together and be able to assess their interrelationship and their relevance of their information. By integrating these information and coming up with a conclusions that will help with the information-exchange and thus may be the basis of other studies. Moreover, it may also be the bases of information that may be beneficial for other organisations in Hong Kong, especially with regards to the factors that the organisation may be find useful for its success. While this may not be the regular procedures that other organisations may take, it nevertheless may give other organisations a chance to build the foundation from which they may be able to push their organisation into a jumpstart, thus another objective of this study is to be able to provide true and useful information that may be used for other practical reasons and can be used for other reason as well as the improvement of the organisation or Hong Kong economy in the study itself.       1.3 Hypothesis In accordance to the objectives, this study seeks to test the hypothesis: “Hong Kong Individual visiting scheme has significant effect to Hong Kong tourism Industry.” The Hong Kong tourism is considered as one of the pillars of the stability of the country. And after the SARs attack in 2003 which directly hit the tourism industry, the Hong Kong economy becomes unstable. In addition, the efforts given by the Hong Kong Industry to strengthen their operation reflects to the satisfaction of the visitors.  If the tourist visitors are satisfied to the efforts given by the Hong Kong tourism, then it simply means that Hong Kong Tourism Industry is performing well. Actually, the scheme will greatly benefit Chinese residents in the mainland as well as the citizens of Hong Kong. However, nothing is perfect, Individual visiting scheme might increase the number of visitors in Hong Kong but when more and more people are going to Hong Kong, it is unavoidable that some mainland citizen abuse the opportunity.   1.4 Research Questions             The previously given discussion shows the general direction and aim of the study, as well as the purpose, however there is also the need for the researcher to elaborate some questions that will be enable to study to go into a certain direction, especially with regards to the nature of the problem being researched. The research questions will then serve as the guide for the researcher for the information that should be gathered from the sources as well as the methods in which they will be extracted from the sources.               As such, the following will be the research questions: <li class="MsoNormal"> What is the status of Tourism Industry in Hong Kong?</li> With regards to the objectives of this study, this particular question will identify if the Tourism Industry in Hong Kong are performing well as viewed by the respondents. This will also reflect if the individual visiting scheme is significant to the changes in tourism industry of Hong Kong.   <li class="MsoNormal"> Do Individual Visit Scheme directly affect the condition of Hong Kong Tourism Industry?</li> As seen in the objectives of the study, this study will also identify if Individual Visit Scheme has positive and negative impact to their progress. This will also identify the significant effect of IVS to the changes in tourism industry of Hong Kong.   <li class="MsoNormal"> Is there any significant difference between the perceptions of respondents regarding Individual Visit Scheme of Hong Kong Tourism Industry with respect to their gender?</li> The objectives of this research paper also consider the perception of the respondents.  With this regard, the difference of perception in accordance to their gender will be assessed. 1.5 Significance of the Study This work will be a significant to tourism authorities and business in Hong Kong. The researcher believes that the tourism schemes will curb tourism problems and will benefit the tourism industry and Hong Kong businesses as well. Also, this study may provide insightful recommendations on the subject of environmental issues that may become useful contribution in the field of Hong Kong economic progress. Finally, this study may provide authentications on existing theories on consumer spending or at least provide generalizations that may also contribute in the academe field (e.g., students and researchers).   1.6 Scope and Limitations This research will only discuss issues involving the impact of Individual Visit Scheme in Hong Kong. However, related literature and studies cited for this study came from different parts of the globe so as to draw information about tourism, economic development and SARS impact. Other countries with similar experience will also be cited and discussed briefly. The outcome of this study will be limited only to the data gathered from books and journals. As this study is specific to Hong Kong, a similar study on other underdeveloped countries is further suggested. Projected time period for the implementation of this study will be at least three to five months, or if possible, even shorter than three months, as long as all the objectives of the study have been met. This research work was limited financially due to other expenses and projects/activities outside this study. Time was limited, too, due to other obligations apart from the study. Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature   This chapter will be discussing the findings of related research to this study. It will provide a discussion on the significance of this study to the existing literature. Moreover, this chapter will discuss several issues regarding Hong Kong development and tourism based on the existing literatures. The following discussion chronicles the subject of Individual Visit Scheme, tourism, and SARS.   2.1 Overview of Hong Kong Hong Kong is a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China ( 2008). Being a SAR, Hong Kong enjoys a “one country, two systems” formula whereas China’s communists policies will not be imposed to it except defense and foreign relations matters (2008). This system is effective for the next 50 years, which started in 1997 ( 2006). According to(2002), the mid-year population of Hong Kong was approximately 6.5 million in 1997. The actual population growth rate between 1987 and 1997 was 1.5% per annum, and the latest projected growth rate for 1996-2016 is 1.3% per annum. The problem of Hong Kong, however, is the severe aging of its population. 15 to 64 years of age accounts to 72.2 percent of the population – a great gap to the 14.5 percent of the 0 to 14 years citizens (2002).             The legal system of Hong Kong is based on the English common law. By occupation, community and social services workers account for 18.8 percent. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 somehow upset the Hong Kong economy, but “a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2005” ( 2008).   2.2 Tourism Development Tourism development in the tourism literature is generally described as a mixed blessing. It can create new service jobs, provide people with greater income, and help develop the local infrastructure. Some communities have received significant economic gains from tourism development (1999). Nevertheless, tourism can also have negative economic repercussions, especially when there are large numbers of tourists (Smith 1989). As indicated in the study of  (1996), for example, demonstrates how tourism in the Dominican Republic brought an inflation of land and food prices, and (1983) argues that much of the potential profit from tourism in the Caribbean is "leaked" back to industrialized countries that export food for tourist consumption in hotels and resorts. Tourism development affects local cultures in multiple and complex ways. Cultural authenticity is compromised when performances are staged for tourists ( 1978) and when artistic objects are created with tourist interests in mind ( 1976). For these authors, the commoditization of culture is equated with cultural loss. Cultural disruptions may also occur when there are wealth disparities between tourists and their hosts; members of a host community may begin to resent their relative poverty and seek ways to emulate the lifestyles of the tourists ( 1998).  (1990) explains how this affects the Ladakhis of northern India: "By observing foreign tourists on vacation, the Ladakhis--the young Ladakhis in particular--easily come to believe that all Westerners are rich, that they work very little, and that the West is a paradise of consumer goods. Young people begin to despise the thinking of their parents and rush to embrace whatever is seen as modern." In sit uations where there are also significant cultural differences between guests and hosts, tourism development can be humiliating for those who are sought by tourists for their "exotic" cultural practices. Similarly, visitors to Thailand wish to see the Padaung "giraffe women," whose necks are elongated by brass spirals (Mirante 1990). In both cases, the tourists photograph but rarely interact with the locals, who are made to feel like curiosities. Tourism has also been beneficial for local cultures. It is frequently associated with a revival of artistic traditions that were previously in decline, as well as the emergence of new forms of cultural expression.  (1982), for example, describes how tourism has revitalized the production of several local crafts, including ikat textiles and wood carvings, in southern Sulawesi. Tourist interest in a local culture can also bring a greater sense of social solidarity and ethnic pride, as  (1999) reports for the Cofan of Ecuador. Swiss Alps villagers are proud of the folkloric displays produced by locals for both local and tourist consumption because they demonstrate regional contributions to the national culture ( 1989). How tourism affects the environment also varies from case to case ( 2000).  (1998:89-90), a harsh critic of the tourism industry, argues that tourism development often "diverts resources (energy, land, and water) away from the local population" and "puts heavy stress on the environment, since tourist sites require reconstruction of the landscape and increased use of petroleum products and toxins such as chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides." In Nepal, locals have depleted wide tracts of forested land in order to accommodate the growing number of hikers who demand wood for cooking, hot showers, campfires, and building materials. Further, the Nepalese environment is polluted with trash left behind by them and mountain climbers (1990). Tourism-related pollution in Jamaica is destroying coral reefs and harming local fish populations (Olsen 1997). On the other hand, environmentally friendly tourism, or ecotourism, contributes to local and global awareness of environmental problems and can provide a lucrative alternative to the destructive uses of the environment, such as logging ( 1999). An unintended consequence of the host/guest dichotomy is that tourists are often portrayed as the primary agents of social change; i.e., the tourists themselves are responsible for bringing either positive or negative change to local communities. This line of reasoning implies that "good" tourists are culturally sensitive, socially responsible, and more likely to bring benefits to local communities, while "bad" tourists are only interested in superficial encounters with locals and do not care about the environmental consequences of their activities. Although there might be some truth to these assumptions, this approach downplays the agency of hosts and mediators. Members of destination communities often have some control over the local development of tourism ( 1998). Locals, for example, often seek jobs in the tourist industry. Young men in Barbados prefer low-paying service jobs in the tourist industry over stigmatized jobs as labourers in the sugar-cane fields ( 1997). Despite these realities, the anthropological literature on tourism tends to view host communities as relatively homogenous and often victimized. Mediators are those whose actions further the development of the tourist industry and/or shape the tourist experience. This includes government officials, tourism planners, travel agents, tour guides, and travel writers. Mediators are therefore a diverse group whose interests and agendas are sometimes in conflict with each other. These actors play a significant role in shaping tourist processes, yet their role has been largely neglected by anthropologists who have devoted much more attention to hosts and guests.   2.3 Effects of Tourism in the Host Countries Anthropologists and other social scientists began to publish substantial works on tourism during the latter half of the 1970s. Their interests were widespread in accordance with the nature of their academic subjects and that of the phenomena embraced within tourism. Further, as has been noted by  (1993), they produced work which reflected 'prevailing sets of academic predispositions'. These sets of predispositions may be arranged into two groups, concentrating broadly on either symbolic cultural issues or socioeconomic issues. It is the purpose of this article to draw attention to socioeconomic issues, which have of late been relatively neglected, and integrate them into the contemporary examination of globalization. In contrast to the burgeoning research on symbolic cultural issues, work which deals primarily with socioeconomic issues has been decreasing, again reflecting the general trend within anthropology. The impact of tourism on communities became a preoccupation with anthropologists initially as a subsidiary to main research interests during the 1970s and later on became a central theme. Areas covered were broad, reflecting the diversity of interests, and case studies were usually isolated through lack of comparative material. This is apparent in the first major collection on the anthropology of tourism ( 1978), in which topics varied through marginal men, gender roles, cultural involution, cottage industries and tourism development. A number of key topics were notable: the modelling of tourist impact, the commoditization of culture and tourism as development. Modelling of tourism impact remains popular ( 1993), and  model boldly simplified a complex subject, albeit with a strong economic bias ( 1978). This is understandable given the quantifiable nature of economic data, but it denies anthropology's talent to reveal socio-cultural subtleties and hence produce a rounded picture of transformation.  (1978) paper on the commoditization of culture has been very influential, despite his original fieldwork conclusions being challenged by other anthropologists. Culture as a commodity to be marketed is increasingly a subject for study and pervades many areas of research as noted above. It is the issue of development which became the primary concern during the 1970s for those interested in the socioeconomic impacts of tourism ( 1974), especially the role it played in what has been termed the 'Third World', a trend which is exemplified in  (1976). Tourism and development has continued as a central theme and diversified into related areas, including policymaking, politics and practice in rural communities ( 1987), economics and environment in South East Asia ( 1993) and regional development in the Mediterranean ( 1996). Characterized by regional case studies and micro-economic research, few anthropological inquiries into tourism have invoked macro-processes as fundamental generators.  (1996) saw tourism as a form of imperialism, with metropolitan centres providing tourists and creating the service economy overseas, thereby emphasizing the link between tourism and industrialization. His is an evolutionary model, modernistic and decidedly problematic due to its inability to take tourist diversity seriously and its lack of engagement with political economy. More typical of the anthropological approach of regionally-focused ethnography is  (1994), in his examination of micro-economic activity, observed with great cultural sensitivity. The important differences between types of tourists, their varied impacts and relationships with the host community as well as historical factors, are well conveyed. Despite their breadth of interest, none of the above works has sought to situate tourism firmly within the broad process of globalization. Contemporary tourism is gainfully perceived as being one element of the larger process of globalization and should be approached as such by scholars, and equally, students of globalization would do well to pay attention to work on tourism.  (1990) describes globalization in terms of global flows, which he labels with the suffix 'scope', for example ethnos capes, ideoscapes, mediascapes. It is reasonable to predict that an inhabitant of a region which is now part of such 'scopes' will have access to and experience of new ethnicities, ideas and media. In this sense tourism is a prime example of a process deeply embedded in global flows: it involves people travelling to distant locations, interacting with different cultures; it utilizes the technologies of the West which embrace the globe; it encourages the spread of financial and economic markets; it supports and is supported by a huge media and advertising industry; it facilitates the communication of ideas between people of different cultural backgrounds.  (1990) recognizes tourism as an aspect of globalisation, as do  and  (1995),  (1994) and  (1995), who see it as the fastest-growing industry in the world and a major influence on world affairs, 'socio-political as well as financial and ecological'. Tourism is the epitome of global flows - the free movement of people around the globe, carriers of cultural capital, users of technological networks, transmitters of cross-cultural ideas; in fact, the tourist personifies globalization and is an appropriate symbol of late twentieth-century consumer culture. Behind this rhetoric is the reasoning that tourism, in the context of globalization, is part of the world-system and its historical development. Its roots run deeper than the twentieth century ( 1975), it is culturally determined and is a fitting metaphor for the consumer lifestyle of today's capitalist economies. Anthropologists need to recognize the historical and cultural importance of tourism in the broader context of Western society and its experience, and perceive it as a crucial dimension of the globalizing trend of capital-driven consumer culture: otherwise they risk isolating tourism from the broader processes which scholars of globalization are dealing with.   2.4 Tourism as Business in Hong Kong             Hong Kong’s identity as one of the most promising and vibrant tourist destination in the world is uncontested. It projects an aura of opulence, efficiency, and high-tech competence ( 2002). Hong Kong had many unique competitive advantages such as the hardware and software required of a world-class city, including keen business acumen, well-developed infrastructure, versatile financial system, robust legal institutions, policies conducive to a free and open society, clean and efficient civil service, simple and low tax, large pool of talent and very cosmopolitan community ( 2003). Because of its abundance in several attractions, tourists flock their way to experience Hong Kong’s magnificence and top offers. Offerings for visitors of the region range from various to rich assortment of food, entertainment, culture and lifestyle. Hong Kong locates in a favourable geographic location in the centre point of Asia Pacific region with a minimum 5-hour fly reaching most of the areas worldwide. With the support of region’s hardware, events tourism thrives on this piece of land – commercial, social, cultural, educational in nature are present in this venue.     In 2006, the  (HKTB) works its way to promote the region as “Events Capital” of Asia. There are several ways being studied, designed and implemented to realize such vision. The primary responsibilities of HKTB are to market and promote HK as a destination worldwide, as well as to take initiatives to enhance the experiences of its visitors once they have arrived. Its mission is to maximise the social and economic contribution that tourism makes to the community of Hong Kong, and to consolidate Hong Kong's position as a unique, world class and most desired destination (2006). The existence of the developmental action plans, policies, and programmes to promote Hong Kong as a top tourist destination is evident. With this known fact, there is a wide assortment of information that documented the efforts of developing its tourism planning and economy.   2.5 Individual Visit Scheme and Hong Kong Tourism Businesses             Tourism industry is one of the main assets of Hong Kong Government.  Without this industry, Hong Kong would possibly have difficulties in maintaining their competitiveness.  Basically, the establishment of Individual Visit Scheme was designed to augment the number of tourist visitors in Hong Kong and Macau.   The need of this scheme was due to the SARS attack happened in 2003.  That attack shakes the Hong Kong tourism industry which is actually threatening the economy of Hong Kong and Macau. The main motive for devising the Individual Visit Scheme was to enhance the economy of Hong Kong and Macau. At the initial stage of the scheme, there are only selected China’s provinces that could apply for visas to visit Hong Kong individually i.e. Beijing, Shanghai, and 8 Guangdong provincial cities ( 2008). However, in July 2004, the scheme was extended to all 21 cities of Guangdong and to 9 other cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces ( 2008).             With this regard, the Individual Visit Scheme for Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong has gone a long way towards boosting the local retail and job markets. In 2005, Hong Kong received a total of 4.2 million Mainland visitors under the Scheme, bringing additional tourism receipts of around $6.5 billion (  2008).             Though an external shock (i.e., SARS) was held largely responsible for the declining income in tourism-related sectors in the first half of 2003, the rising turnover in the tourism industry could not do much to pull the local sectors out of the slump ( 2006). In 2004 and 2005, aggregate spending of non-residents on local accommodations and other tourism services had been going up as a result of the Chinese government's permission to significantly increase the quota for Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong and Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme policy ( 2006). Real growth in these sectors however, is still far behind the performance of the tourism industry. In the long run, it is even anticipated that as the scale of the tourism industry expands, business prospects of some local sectors may shrink. Today, companies within and outside the tourism industry are striving to deliver not only their products and services but also high or even world class quality and satisfaction that will lead to increased customer loyalty and market share. The significance of customer satisfaction and relationship with service quality, occupancy rate and profitability has long been exhorted by both management experts and researchers in the tourism field ( 1994 and  1996). The positioning in the Hong Kong’s tourism industry propelled marketing managers to build brand image for their names in order to create loyalty among customers and not to become reliant to Individual Visit Scheme policy. However, in line with this boosted brand-building initiative, organizations must address many issues to create brand loyalty among customers and improve its position. On this case, organizations in  the tourism business requires a massive amount of skill in specialized marketing that includes establishing sales quotas and maintaining relationships with tourists, local agents, corporate tour and even travel departments of major corporations, and more. Also, other external issues affect the company’s marketing operations such the emergence of the dreaded disease Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). It is perceived that the sudden onset of this disease among the Asian countries caused significant damages to the economic environment. As one of the most visited tourist destination in Asia, the active role of Hong Kong as one of the economic drivers is acknowledge. With the emergence of various occurrences like the unexpected incident of SARS, the operations and market status particularly on the clientele aspect is affected. To address such, the management designs strategic plans that aim to bring back the prestige and ‘normal’ business processes of the tourism businesses. Meanwhile, SARS, according to World Health Organization ( 2004) is a disease characterized by atypical pneumonia caused by the SARS corona virus (SARS ). In 2003, Hong Kong's economy was hurt by measures undertaken to control the outbreak of SARS, which spread there from China. Hong Kong's SARS epidemic is closely connected to its complex systems of mobility as a tourist centre and, at the same time, as a global-gateway city ( 2001; Sum 1999). Its rapid spread from Southern China to Hong Kong and thereafter to 30 other countries was related to the mobility and translational travel of these actors. According to Sheller and  (2004), WHO recommended on 27 March 2003 that all areas with recent local transmission should screen every international departing passenger to ensure that those who were sick with SARS, or in contact with SARS cases, do not travel. Following that order, a travel compliance memorandum was issued on 2 April 2003 to warn those who intend to visit Hong Kong and recommended the deferment of all (except for essential) trips. These orders are done in order to minimize the international spread of SARS. These warnings also began to stigmatize Hong Kong as a 'no-go area' ( 2004). The (HKTC) recorded a vast drop of visitor arrivals between April and June 2003. With this fact alone, the operations of most tourism businesses were relatively and extensively affected. Basically, the Hong Kong Tourism industry was comprises of numerous tangible and intangible components. The SARS event constituted a watershed incident for the theme and amusement park business and tourism industry in general. Certainly, SARS has impacted on the marketing operations of the tourism, entertainment, transportation, commerce and other industries ( 2003). Thus, the disease has slowed down entire sectors of the Hong Kong economy and threatened long-term development goals. To address the challenge of SARS, the management of every tourism businesses structured their individual strategies to do away with the adverse effects of the disease. Some tourism organisations implemented various marketing and management scheme, communications, and risk management plans to save the whole organization.   2.6 Tourism and SARS in Hong Kong     Much has been written and documented in the subject of SARS. Research studies vary from medical, economic, sociological, political, industrial, consumer, and business perspectives. Generally, a comprehensive authoritative guide for managing crises and disasters in tourism risk management for the Asia Pacific region was provided by  and colleagues (2005) have conducted a research study on the SARS-related perceptions in Hong Kong.  (2003) wrote an inclusive literature of the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong while  (2005) discussed pertinent factors about SARS and its effects in relation to public health.  enumerated the peculiarities of the disease like its novelty, ease of transmission in certain settings, and the swiftness of its spread through plane travel, joint with extensive media coverage; psychological impacts; international travel policies released by authorities; governments’ and press’ role in fair and balance communication and risk management; pre-departure screening in airports; screening and infection control capacities at points of entry into the healthcare system; and others. Incorporated in the research body are lessons learned during the outbreak and its effects on the overall scope of international travel.     Meanwhile,  (2004) reviewed the spread and impact of the SARS virus within Southeast Asia from a human security perspective. It is intended that the utilisation of human security in this instance will not only provide a better understanding of the impact of SARS on regional states but will also advance the conceptualisation of the human security model ( 2004). Several empirical research studies conducted are bounded on the economic aspect.  (2004) provided an assessment of the global economic impacts of SARS and a more comprehensive approach to estimating the global consequences of major disease outbreaks using the a global model called the G-Cubed () model. Specifically,  (2004) focused on the economic impact of SARS in Hong Kong wherein the chronologies of SARS as the first deadly infectious disease of the 21st century – its spread in Hong Kong, number of cases, and affected regions. Also, demand and supply side is discussed.     In relation to tourism industry, numerous research articles are published.  (2004) made a case study on the impact of SARS on Hong Kong’s tourism industry, with special attention given to the chronological arrangement of critical SARS-related events. Their findings affirmed that the epidemic had brought out negatively profound impact not only in Hong Kong but also to world tourism particularly strong impacts on Southeast Asian countries.  (2004) evaluated the effects of SARS on the Chinese tourism and hotel industry – from Mainland China and territories like Hong Kong and Macau. Findings avowed that the overall effect of SARS to the Chinese economy is relatively minimal yet  reiterated that the main lessons are deemed to be social and political in applications.  (2005) also assessed the effects of SARS on Hong Kong tourism industry as they give an empirical evaluation of extensive body of knowledge on the pervasive effects of the disease to almost all industries related to hospitality, travel and tourism.  (2004) expounded on the overreaction to SARS and eventual collapse of Asian tourism. They evaluated sensationalism brought about by various channels of communication (e.g. media) and provided significant facts about the real nature of the condition.     Other related studies on the effects of SARS in the tourism industry fall in the subject of consumers and their behaviours, and marketing management conditions.  (2004) explored consumers’ perspective in their research wherein they discussed the reluctance of Hong Kong consumers in purchasing travel online due to issues like privacy, security and poor customer service, time savings, site usability and information provision. Other consumer-based researches are mainly focused on consumer satisfaction and other related issues.  and colleagues (2004) investigated the patterns of behaviours and attitudes related to SARS prevention in Hong Kong’s cross border traveller population using the survey method. They found out several practises done by the respondents surveyed as follows: ü                  Around 40% of the respondents were using masks all or most of the time in public places or washing their hands frequently (>10 times per day) and about one third avoided visiting crowded places in mainland China. ü                  Around 70% of the travellers would have delayed medical consultation for influenza-like illness in China; 12.7% would not wear masks during such episodes of illness. ü                  About 30% of the respondents used to wear masks in Hong Kong but not in mainland China. ü                  Gender differences were also observed.               Lastly,  (2006) examined the impact that SARS on the marketing management functions using the case study method. They provided recommendations for how uncertainty may be managed in increasingly ‘globalized’ world while aspects of strategic and risk-management, supply-chain management and corporate strategy, and planning are extensively discussed. Records from  (2004) stated that SARS outbreak in the 2002-2003 only resulted in 774 deaths. Together with weak domestic demand conditions, it resulted in low growth in parts of East and Southeast Asia (such as Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore) ( 2004). Generally, the outbreak of SARS directly and indirectly affected various industries of Hong Kong and the world. In this context, marketing activities prove to be necessary in creation of destination image and attraction and maintenance of profitable customers. These activities start with management of tourist destination, including infrastructure, environment and natural attractions, development of specific strategies and investments, segmenting and monitoring the tourist market, communication with tourist market, and organization and management of tourism marketing ( 1996).   2.7 Synthesis of Literature Review Based on the literature and in the context of the study, incoming tourists and immigrants from the Mainland to Hong Kong play significant impact to the progress of the tourism industry of Hong Kong as well as their economy. With this consideration, the Individual Visit Scheme in Hong Kong as a tool to counter the declining number of tourist visits due to the effect of SARS attack in 2002-2003 is effective. Actually, the Individual Visit Scheme increased the number of tourist visitors in Hong Kong.  However, the increase of tourists and immigrants in Hong Kong created not only positive results but also some drawbacks. Given the negative impact of tourism such as the increasing number of crimes committed by both locals and tourists, Hong Kong officials still continue to encourage the entry of tourist mainly because of several reasons. First, the potential for tourism to generate foreign currency is important, all the more so in states which have artificial or controlled exchange rates, or which are, often as a result, suffering balance of payments problems. Second is the fact that tourism is labour intensive, and creates employment throughout the economy; tourists spend money on hotels, transport, and meals, but also on a wide variety of goods and services. Third is the fact that the tourism industry does not, on the whole, require expensive or complex technology or a highly skilled workforce. With the exception of a small number of complex projects such as operating an airline, investment in tourism is not comparatively expensive, and will often return a profit reasonably quickly. Finally, many states already have in place the basic and most important requirements for the development of the tourism sector; a pleasant climate, attractive scenery, historical sites, and friendly people. In other words, governments often feel that their state possesses an untapped economic resource, and decide to take advantage of it.                   Chapter 3 Methods and Procedures   This chapter will be dedicated to the description of the methods and procedures done in order to obtain the data, how they will be analyzed, interpreted, and how the conclusion will be met. This section is to justify the means in which the study was obtained and will help in giving it purpose and strength as it will then be truthful and analytical. All these will help in the processing of the data and the formulation of conclusions.             Specifically, this research will cover the following: the research design and method, the respondents or subjects to be studied (which will include the sampling method), the data collection instrument, and the data analysis. These will be presented below.   3.1 Research Design             The research design chosen both qualitative and quantitative research, which uses explanatory methods in describing the variables wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained or correlated with other data. It is especially useful when conducting a study wherein the data are immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and others (, 2000). Furthermore, the study will be descriptive as it will focus on the conditions set and the nature that surrounds the data and does not focus on the correlation with other collected facts. 3.2 The Respondents             The researcher, in choosing subjects or respondents for the topic at hand, is usually thought of to have the power over who the respondents of the study will be. Such a task would have been easier, except a researcher cannot simply choose out of whim; the subjects must be selected carefully with the intention of having subjects who each posses characteristics that, when put together, will represent a community. It is not only themselves, whom these subjects will represent, but the bigger whole or the whole population. The characteristics which the researcher has chosen them for will determine which part of the community they belong and what part of the community they are representing. Thus, the choosing of the subjects must be based on their characteristics.             In this study, it is necessary to collect information from Hong Kong Tourism’s clients.   3.3 Data Collection Instrument             In order to obtain the desired data, the researcher has chosen to use the primary research data, which is to collect firsthand the data to be used for the outcome of the research. In able to do this, the researcher must have a data collection instrument to be presented to the respondents. Thus, the researchers have chosen obtaining data through the questionnaire. The questionnaire is administered by writing questions on a page and distributing it to the respondents, expecting them to return the paper with their answers on it. This is easier than other methods of data-collection (e.g., interview, observation, etc.) as particular details may be hard to talk about during interviews and cannot be drawn out from observation.             The advantage of using the questionnaires method is that the respondents have time to think of their answers, thus allowing smaller rate of errors. Also, concerning delicate matters, the respondents may feel more at ease when answering questionnaires as they are not required to speak with someone else in order to give information. The disadvantage of the questionnaire method is when the respondents are unable to read or write; then the questionnaire will be rendered useless by the respondents as they may need interpreters for the questionnaires. Thus, in case such that unlikely event may happen, then the researcher will have no choice but to quickly switch to the interview method, wherein the researcher will be allowed to interact with the respondent and ask the questions based on the prepared questionnaire.   3.4 Instruments to be Used To determine the perception of the respondents about the status of Individual Visit Scheme and Hong Kong Tourism, the researcher prepared a survey-questionnaire. The respondents graded each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents were given five response choices (1994). The equivalent weights for the answers were: Range                                                Interpretation             4.50 – 5.00                                        Strongly Agree 3.50 – 4.49                                        Agree 2.50 – 3.49                                        Uncertain 1.50 – 2.49                                        Disagree          0.00 – 1.49                                        Strongly Disagree   The decision was made to use a questionnaire for the data collection for this project due to the sensitivity of the information being obtained.  It is important for the respondents to be open and honest in their responses. The use of the questionnaire provides the project owner with the ability to test the views and attitudes of the respondents. The questionnaire was designed to allow the collection of specific information about the participants to conduct statistical analysis, e.g. age, gender, and social status.   3.5 Data Analysis             In order to correctly interpret the data in such a way that its result will reflect what the study originally intends to show then the researcher must employ the correct and accurate way of data analysis.             Moreover, simple statistics can be done and applied, and it will be easier to determine the status of the perception of the respondents regarding Individual Visit Scheme and Hong Kong Tourism.   3.6 Summary of Action             As stated in this chapter, the researcher undergoes stages. In the research design, the researcher collected secondary data and formulated and developed the questionnaire. In this stage, these instruments were subjected to approval and validation. During the data collection, the researcher collated and summarized the data obtained from the Hong Kong development reports, questionnaire and survey. The researcher analyzed these data and from these, findings and recommendations were presented. Chapter 4 Presentation, Interpretation and Data Analysis               In this chapter, the data gathered from the tourism clients of Hong Kong in relation to the research objectives.  This chapter discusses the result of the semi-structured questionnaire responded by 102 participants. Before the initiation of the research study the significance, rationale and purpose of the study were provided respondents. Furthermore, the respondents have also been given the assurance that all the data they will give are used for the purpose of the research and the identities of the respondents will be confidential. The object is to to be able to assess the current status of economy of Hong Kong, to assess the perception of the respondents regarding the current status of tourism industry in Hong Kong and to investigate and clarify the effect of Individual Visit Scheme on Hong Kong Tourism industry.             The conduct of this study entails a detailed account of the demographic profile of the respondents.  It is assumed that the attributes of the respondents influence their behaviour and answers on the survey questions.  Of particular significance to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the study – which is to be an instrument of analysis of the institution to gauge where it is now and where it is heading, thus what changes are to be made – is to be able to answer the research questions.   Part 1: Demographic Profile             This part will discuss the demographic profile of 102 individuals who answered the survey questionnaire sent by the research. The description of the respondents includes their gender, age, educational background, occupation, and types of employment.   Frequency Table 1       Figure 1                 The figure above presents the distribution and frequency in terms of the age of the participants. Herein, it shows that 35 (33%) of the total respondents are 51 above and 24% belongs to 31-35 and 16 (16%) belongs to 46 to 50. this means that most of the tourists which have been included in this research are adults who are more experienced when it comes to travelling. Frequency Table 2         Figure 2       Figure 2 shows the distribution of the tourists who participated in the study in terms of gender. Herein, it shows that 88(86%) were male and 14(14%) were female. This may indicate that males are more interested to participate in survey and researches than women. Frequency Table 3           Figure 3                 The figure above displays the educational attainment of the respondents of this study. The data gathered revealed that 66 (64%) out of 102 respondents are graduate and 19 (19%) are post graduate. Only 17% of the respondents have not been able to finish their studies. This could indicate that the respondents chosen in this research have a good education which may help them understand more the issue and objective of the study. Frequency Table 4     Figure 4               The figure above presents the types of employment/service where the participants belong. Herein, it shows that half of the respondents 52% are working at government agencies and department while the other 50% are working at MNC and private employment. Such result shows that each of the group has an equal representation for this study.   Part 2: Perception of the Respondents             This part of the paper will discuss and analyze the perception of 102 respondents who participated in this study. The discussion will focus on the Hong Kong tourism.                 Letter to the Respondent     To the respondent,   Greetings! The researcher is conducting a survey concerning the Impact of Individual Visit Scheme on H.K Tourism Industry. To enable the researcher to make the necessary conclusions and recommendations for this study, it would be very much appreciated if you answer all the items in this questionnaire. Information given will be treated in strictest confidence.   Thank you! The Researcher                                           Survey Questionnaire   Part 1. Personal Data Direction: Please fill up in all the necessary information about yourself.  Do not leave any item unanswered. a.      Gender ( ) Male                       ( ) Female   b.     Age Group ( ) 18-22         ( ) 23-27                     ( ) 28-32                     ( ) 33-37         ( ) 28-42                     ( ) 43-above   c.      Civil Status ( ) Single         ( ) Married      ( ) Separated             ( ) Widow/Widower d.       e.      Highest Educational Attainment ( ) Completed Primary                      ( ) Completed Secondary ( ) Undergraduate                              ( ) Graduate   Part 2. Perception of the Respondents Directions:  Check the best choice that accurately corresponds to your answer.             SD STRONGLY DISAGREE D DISAGREE U UNDECIDED A AGREEE SA STRONGLY   AGREE   STATEMENTS   SD D U A SA Impact of Hong Kong Tourism Industry to their Economic Stability           <li class="MsoNormal"> Hong Kong Tourism businesses were severely affected by SARS that causes significant damage to Hong Kong Economy. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> Hong Kong Tourism is important to the stability of the economic condition of Hong Kong. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The attack of SARS in 2003 threatens the tourism industry and Hong Kong economy. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Individual Visit Scheme has both long-term and short-term effects to Hong Kong. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The increase in the number of Mainland tourists has some benefits the economy of Hong Kong and may demonstrate that the economy is on an upward track. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Individual Visit Scheme helps the Hong Kong economy to recover from SARS attack. </li>           Perception Towards Individual Visit Scheme           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Hong Kong’s Individual Visit Scheme is an excellent approach to counter decreasing number of tourist visitors due to the attack of SARS in 2003. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> With regards to the threat of SARS in Hong Kong, the creation of Individual Visit Scheme augments the number of visitors in Hong Kong and Macau. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Individual Visit Scheme is an advantage to Hong Kong’s non-tourism businesses. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> As a result of these global threats, the number of visitors and tourists who visited Hong Kong tourist destinations decreased thus, Individual Visit Scheme is necessary. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Individual Visit Scheme helps encourage visitors to Hong Kong. </li>           Perception Towards Hong Kong Tourism           <li class="MsoNormal"> With respect to the Individual Visit Scheme, the Hong Kong Tourism is continuously growing. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> I am satisfied to the current efforts of the tourism industry in enhancing their operation. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Individual Visit Scheme is an advantage to Hong Kong Tourism Industry because it also shows improvement of services. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> At the time of SARS attack in 2003, competition in Hong Kong Tourism industry was no longer stiff during the outbreak of the disease growing worldwide but the efforts of Hong Kong Tourism industry put back their composure. </li>           <li class="MsoNormal"> The Hong Kong Tourism Industry was performing well. </li>                 Related articles Cross-Cultural Management Sample Thesis Chapter 3 on Re-examination of the Sufficiency of Quality Management Practices of the Contractors in Hong Kong Marketing in Travel and Tourism Industry Superior Venture Corp. 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The Impact of Individual Visit Scheme on Hong Kong Tourism Industry

Chapter 1 The Problem and Its Background In this chapter paper, the rationale, significance of the study, and scope and lim...