K. Thirumaran

Integrating Souvenirs with Tourism Development: Vietnam's Challenges

Abstract The idea of destination development often emphasizes transport connectivity, hospitality services, infrastructure building, attractions facilities and promotions with an indicative measure of visitor arrivals. In contrast, we underline the importance of souvenirs corollary to tourism development if it is related to traditional crafts especially in emerging destinations. Souvenirs in tourism are a useful tool in promoting a tourist destinations image. However, in Vietnams tourism landscape, souvenir development has not played a corresponding role of image creation and commercial enterprise. We examine the problems of adapting Vietnamese souvenirs for tourism using stakeholder analysis. Attention to souvenirs in Vietnam provides an opportunity to illustrate the nexus between tourism development trajectories, image-making and the intricacies involved in national representation.

The Politics of Tourism: Ethnic Chinese Spaces in Malaysia

Southeast Asia is experiencing an era of strong growths in Chinese tourist arrivals.1 Malaysia like many countries in the region has numerous ethnic Chinese heritage sites that reflect over 6 centuries of relations with China.2 However, the Malaysian government turned its attention only recently, to the potential use of ethnic Chinese heritage for the pur¬poses of tourism. A confluence of intensifying relations with China and the dynamics of Malay majority and ethnic Chinese minority politics in Malaysia appears to have an impact on the tourism landscape. This chapter argues that Malaysias tourism policy has crossed the Rubicon of Malay ethno-nationalism, which comes to terms with global realignments and local political realities that allows for ethnic Chinese heritage to emerge in the tourism landscape.

Managing Graffiti at Tourist Attractions

The study of vandalism, particularly graffiti at tourist attractions is dispersed across several academic disciplines; within the field of tourism itself, vandalism has received limited attention. This paper examines vandalism prevention methods employed at the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia to suggest alternative approaches to heritage management that takes into account tourists’ desires to deface attractions through graffiti. Drawing on fieldwork observations and examples of graffiti deterrence found in North America and Asia, this study suggests that managing attractions in Asia has to consider tourists desires as much as placing emphasis on traditional punitive actions and preventative measures.

Marketing Sustainable Beach Holidays: A Tropical Agenda

The beach is one of the idyllic tropical attractions requiring and receiving attention from all those who partake in it. As a tourism resource, the issue of preserving its awe and beauty proves challenging for stakeholders in the tropics. Existing academic frameworks of sustainability primarily focus on the triple bottom line, community-based tourism and tourist management strategies to mitigate tourist activities that are detrimental to the beach as a generational resource. This paper proposes a marketing-activities approach to offer policy options when promoting beaches in the tropics. In this approach, we analyse ways natural settings and accompanying activities produce sustainable results if the marketing programmes are in sync with activities at the beach as a perceived valuable resource. The model attempts to understand the beach as a marketable resource commensurate with escalation of activities. A comparative descriptive study was conducted on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, Thailand’s Phuket and India’s Goa beaches to draw a conceptual framework. This framework presents principal stakeholders practical management strategies vis-a-vis marketing and beach activities. Tropical destinations are limited natural resources and face increasing development pressures. A marketing-activities approach can address issues of sustainability alongside experiences of quintessential tropical vacations for tourists.

Celebrity chefs and the enhancement of culinary tourism experiences in Singapore

In recent decades, food has emerged as an important lifestyle trend in tourism. This paper explores the role of celebrity chefs in enhancing culinary experiences in Singapore. More specifically, our work identifies thematic determinants of how world-renowned chefs and their signature restaurants in Singapore contribute to the country’s culinary scene. This study analyses 12 restaurant websites showcasing celebrity chefs. A range of themes such as the type of restaurant, cuisine, location, menu, length of time in business and promotional activities were examined to deduce the role and impact of celebrity chefs as an integral part of Singapore’s desire to be a food capital of Southeast Asia. Celebrity status works in tandem with a mix of local and global cuisines, physical location and ambiance to carve out a niche for particular eating establishments in the landscape of worldwide culinary tourism, leading to the conclusion that celebrity chefs play a significant role in tourism promotion.

Luxury tourism, emerging destinations: research review and trajectories

Contemporary tourism scholarship on luxury travel and destinations has largely focused on developed regions and mature destinations. The study of luxury tourism in emerging or developing destinations merits equal scrutiny. An examination of this composite dichotomy of luxury and developing destinations offers new ways of conceptualizing resources utilized, maintained and made available in emerging luxury destinations. There are three parts to this paper: 1) a survey of the literature to better understand the stage and state of luxury tourism in emerging destinations 2) an evaluation of developments and allocation of resources vis-a-vis luxury tourism and 3) identification of a research trajectory for luxury tourism as an emerging area in developing destinations. This study contends that though luxury tourism seemingly stands in an inverse relationship to developing destinations, it is important to understand the nascent stage of growth and challenges as found in existing literature into full circle.

Destination ASEAN, Beyond 2015

The 2015 year-end will mark a new era for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that seeks to transform from a loosely held cooperating nations to a more closely knit “ASEAN Economic Community” (AEC) of over 600 million people. Greater economic cooperation is predicted to accelerate intra-ASEAN mobility. The AEC is expected to be characterized by the removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade, common external tariffs, and free movement of capital, goods, labor, and people. In all of ASEAN, tourism is a key economic sector that has implications for societies and cultures. This chapter evaluates the integrating elements that affect the tourism sector in member states. Building on earlier research and current tourism industry practices in ASEAN, three key areas are examined: employment and inbound and intra-ASEAN travel strategies. The implementation of the mutual recognition agreement and managed mobility of skilled labor opens up new economic vistas for people in the region seeking opportunities beyond national boundaries.

Managing Development of Resort Destinations in Southeast Asia: Emerging and Peripheral Phu Quoc Island

Southeast Asia located in the tropics offers a variety of sea resort destinations. With the recent economic reforms in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar for greater integration into the world economy, tourism has been a key sector of attention with many potential sea resorts to be developed in these countries’ coastal regions. In this regard, Bali and Phuket among others offer important development lessons within the region for Vietnam’s rising and popular resort – Phu Quoc Island. This chapter takes a leaf from Bali’s tourism experience as a development strategy that can be learned and considered for Phu Quoc Island’s growth. Though these destinations are in different stages of development, such comparative learning provides a new perspective on managing peripheral resorts. Utilizing peripheral areas in tourism development theories as a basis to understand Balinese experience, a framework of key factors such as foreign investments and good environmental practices will be examined. Balinese tourism successes and challenges are analyzed to discern ways in which Phu Quoc Island’s development can be managed in the twenty-first century as one of several emerging resort destinations in Southeast Asia.

Challenges in emerging research on luxury destinations

Challenges in Emerging Research on Luxury Destinations nSince the end of the Cold War, many of the economies in the world have proceeded with market reforms and integrated into the world economy by spurring domestic free enterprise, promoting openness to foreign direct investments and intensifying international trade. All these have resulted in a general uplift of income levels and dynamic changes in many destinations such as Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City to name a few. Over the last two decades, there has been sporadic but steady growth of literature focusing on luxury consumption and destination development. This brief editorial examines challenges of conducting research on luxury destinations while exploring opportunities for research in three key areas: travel consumption patterns, destination policies, and comparative studies.

Business innovations in a recession: A meso perspective of inbound tour operators

B on a proprietary database of 967 Swiss start-up companies, 531 venture capital investors and 1,138 early-stage financing transactions we find that between 1999 and 2009, over CHF 4.5bn had been invested in Swiss early-stage firms. First of all, these investments turn out to be highly cyclical both regarding the number and the total amount of financing transactions. This is, to a large extent, due to the availability of venture capital and hence a result of the particular investor structure. Furthermore, we find that start-ups build regional clusters around universities and economic centers providing them with knowledge, networking opportunities, financial and entrepreneurial expertise and an ample customer base. This is in fact a key factor for the third aspect, namely the change in the industrial profile of the startup landscape. Precisely, we observe that after 2001, Life Sciences overtook ICT and today account for more than 70 percent of total early-stage investments. Life sciences now display the largest average and absolute investment amounts, the highest R&D investments and significant capital expenditures. Moreover, the industry pattern of early-stage firms mirrors the specializations of the local industry. These findings are generally relevant since they not only document how startup firms develop but also how the industrial and regional patterns of startup clusters evolve over time. Finally, some important conclusions regarding the relevance of venture capital can be derived.N animation and entertainment services have become a constituent part and are playing an important role as a special function in hotel businesses. This is probably due to the constantly increasing requirements of hotel clientele for better service and an integrated holidays experience in resorts. Animation services encompass every activity offering movement, joy, leisure and spectacle, such as games, sports, shows, events, etc. From a business perspective, the main aims of resorts managing and operating such services are: (i) to offer a wide spectrum of recreational opportunities to their guests; (ii) to enhance and improve their reputation, customer loyalty and, par extension, to increase occupancy rate; and (iii) to gain a competitive advantage in a very difficult market. The aim of this study is to explore various aspects and address various management issues related to the successful offering of recreational services. This topic constitutes a research theme not sufficiently investigated. A review of the related literature is performed in the first section. This is followed by a synoptic presentation of international experience. The main part of the study is dedicated to four case studies of Greek resort hotels; focusing on the main management issues, such as organization, program and activities, human resources, etc. The paper concludes by identifying the factors crucial to the successful offering of animation services and to the appropriate approach to link the local culture and production to tourism and hotel industry, and to create synergy between entertainment services and local culture.R franchises are expanding globally at an unprecedented pace. This presentation highlights the factors and impact of global expansion of restaurant franchises. Considering the lack of available information this study explores factors that should be considered in decision making pertaining to expansion in foreign markets. Using data of restaurant franchises particularly McDonalds and KFC this study outlines some of the factors that need consideration in global expansion. On the flip side this study also examines the impact of global expansion on local businesses. The study focuses on the following aspects (a) the growth of restaurant franchises in selected emerging economies; (b) social, economic, political and environmental factors that need consideration prior to entering a foreign market; (c) identification of potential markets; (d) impact on local markets; and (e) competing with local markets. A list of factors as well as potential impact will be provided as a summary for use by hospitality corporations.Marketing, especially consumer behavior, has learnt a lot from social sciences, over the years. The study of anthropology has contributed immensely to the evolution of marketing, and understanding and appreciation of consumer behavior. This study aims to give a historical perspective of how anthropology has shaped consumer behavior – from ancient cultures, tribal social systems and ultimately leading to the modern consumption theories. Anthropology – History It is the study of human race over time. There were five large cultures, if we look at the history of societies. There was the Indo – Gangetic, Roman – Tigris Valley, Greek – Euphrates, Persian and Egyptian – Nile. If we look at evolution of Human Consumption, it started with the Stone Age, followed by Cave Age, then started the learning and practice of hunting followed by storing and finally settling near the water source. Development of Exchange Principle The first profession of the human civilization was that of fishing. Exchange of goods started with the growth of civilization. First, it was the individual, and then started the formation of groups which culminated into guilds. Slowly, craftsmanship developed primarily with iron which then gave way tothe formation of the feudal system. About 30,000years ago, commerce started happening for the first time in human civilization. This led to the formation of groups which started exerting pressure on society for exchange of goods. Modern Society The feudal lords, over a period of time, gave way to the Empire system. The first commodity which was traded as a means of exchange was Salt. Salt was replaced by Sugar. The great empires, like Roman, Greek and Indian started breaking up duringthe 6 th century BC. The conflict between civilizations started just before Christ. Empires started expanding and people began to become aware of various kinds of commodities that are available for consumption.E importance of the hospitality industry is well established. But it has its own issues and challenges. Customers’ increasing expectations for better quality at lower price from hospitality organizations (Dube and Renagan, 2000 cited in O’Neill and Mattila, 2004) are significant contributors to challenges being faced by the industry. Business managers in the hospitality industry across the globe face the challenges such as: continuously satisfying guests, highlighting hotel attributes (Wuest et al., 1996) and ensuring that guests make a repeat visit (Dominici and Guzzo, 2010). Our research (Rishi and gaur, 2012) provides an overview of the emerging sales and marketing challenges faced by the global hospitality industry. Analytically identified themes in this research provide valuable insights on marketing issues and challenges for the policy makers and practitioners from the hospitality industry. Findings are based on the analyses of real customer data from the world’s leading tourist destinations. This makes our research very valuable for both practitioners in the hospitality industry around the globe as well as for academicians working in this area. My presentation is based on the following paper: Meghna Rishi and Sanjaya S. Gaur, (2012) Emerging sales and marketing challenges in the global hospitality industry: A thematic analysis of customer reviews from the worlds top two tourist destinations, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 4 Iss: 2, pp.131 149.I today’s competitive tourism market place scenario all the destinations from resorts to countries are focusing on branding as a tool to differentiate and to enhance their unique selling point for their product. This paper briefly discusses the role of branding in destination marketing and evaluates whether destinations can indeed be branded as other goods and services. The intent of this research is to identify the effectiveness of “Incredible India Campaign” on international tourists visiting India. This paper focuses on the various steps in the journey of positioning & repositioning India as a Brand. It also analyses the core competencies required to provide a base for building Brand India. The Research methodology includes sampling with questionnaire as an instrument (pilot test also conducted), then 20 items relating to destination image were selected and respondents were asked to rate India after the Incredible India Campaign on 5point Likert’s scale, further reliability was assessed by cronbach’s alpha value The data was processed with the statistical package SPSS.Recent downturns pose challenges to many industries and businesses are constantly searching for ways to improve and stabilize their returns. Most tourism and business literature concerning inbound tour operators tends to focus on market specific and the positive relations between inbound tourism and economic development (Cortes and Pulina 2010), factors affecting inbound tourism (Phakdisoth and Kim 2007, Saayman and Saayaman 2008). This paper in many ways fills the gap in tourism literature where seldom the element of recession is mixed with inbound operators challenges. The harsh reality of a business dependent on inbound tourist arrivals demands a high degree of versatility and adaptability to seasonal travel patterns and economic volatility. While most tour operators specialize in external and domestic markets, there are few who extend their reach beyond standard operations. This research investigates a travel agencys, (Singapore Sightseeing Tour East), experience of the 2001-2003 recession and the innovative steps taken to circumvent the recession and its continued relevance to contemporary economic situations. Based on this Inbound Tour Operators challenges and innovative turnarounds, this paper will present successful strategies for penetrating and creating markets. Using case study analysis with archival evidence of the companys records and interviews, the research adopts a qualitative method to understand the tour operators initiatives. The study, though limited to Singapores specific context, has wider implications for inbound tour operators in similar situations elsewhere.T study addresses the government policies affecting Malaysian hotels at a time of rapid growth in the Malaysian tourism industry. Building on current debates on the quality and shortage of labour in the hospitality industry, this research explores the challenges faced by Malaysian hotels in attracting and retaining suitable human resource. The study is conducted from a constructivist ontological stance coupled with an interpretivist epistemology. A set of three semi-structured interviews, involving the Chief Executive Officer, HR professional and line manager, were conducted in five leading hotels. Three additional interviews were conducted to gain feedback from individuals with HR and/or hotel industry expertise. Data were analysed using a priori and data driven coding following King’s (2004) template analysis method. This research reveals challenges faced by Malaysian hotels from an industry and societal level. The challenges include government policies relating to English language, education policy, policies on labour, and changing attitudes towards work. Although this exploratory research may not be generalisable to all Malaysian hotels, its insights into Strategic Human Resource Management challenges may be transferable to other similar hotels and resorts. Discussion of the practical implications of the study’s results highlight the actions recommended as necessary for the three target audiences, namely, Hotel Managers (which include CEOs/General Managers, HR professionals and line managers), the Malaysian Association of Hotels, and the Government, to improve professional practice pertaining to strategic human resource management in Malaysian hotels.