Table of Contents

Executive Summary.........................................................................................................1

Hong Kong as a Tourist Destination.................................................................................2

Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) of Hong Kong..............................................2

DMO of Hong Kong Website............................................................................................2

Legislative Council Panel on Economic Development Hong Kong Tourism Board Work Plan for 2012-2013...........................................................................................................2

Tourist arrival Statistics....................................................................................................3

Priority Market Targets.....................................................................................................4

Selection of Market Targets.............................................................................................5

HBTK understanding of motivation of the target markets.................................................6

Processes of destination choices.....................................................................................6

Determining Levels of Satisfaction...................................................................................7

Internal Marketing at HKTB..............................................................................................8

Competitive Destinations to Hong Kong...........................................................................8

Competitive advantage of Hong Kong over Competitors.................................................9

References.....................................................................................................................11

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Executive Summary

This report aims to identify a tourist destination in Asia pacific region and find the name

of the official government endorsed destination marketing organization of the

destination. Hong Kong has been chosen as the destination and its tourism board, Hong

Kong Tourism Board (HKBT) official website used to gather information and statistics on

its marketing strategy.

The Work Plan has provided pertinent aspects about the aims of this study which

included; priority target markets, tourist arrivals, tourist attractions, marketing strategy

and others issues which have been discussed at length in this report. This report has

also highlighted the challenges Hong Kong is facing as an attractive destination in the

inevitable and healthy competition from other Asia- Pacific destinations, of note are

Macau, Mainland China, Japan and Taiwan and indeed the manner in which HKBT has

developed strategies to maintain Hong Kong as a destination of choice for travelers

which this report has highlighted.

.

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Hong Kong as a Tourist Destination

The tourist destination chosen for the purpose of this report is Hong Kong, it is one of

the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China.

Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a statutory body set up to promote Hong

Kong globally as a world-class tourist destination it was established in 2001 under the

Hong Kong Tourism Board Ordinance (Cap. 302). Its core function is to promote Hong

Kong globally as a leading international city in Asia and a world class tourist destination.

DMO of Hong Kong Website

The Hong Kong Tourism Board Home Page address is www.discoverhongkong.com;

The HKTB launched a new PartnerNet in June 2012 to tighten its network with the travel

trade and create new business opportunities. PartnerNet Home Page address is www.

http://partnernet.hktourismboard.com

Legislative Council Panel on Economic Development Hong Kong Tourism Board Work Plan for 2012-2013

This paper presents the Work Plan of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) for 2012-

13 which outlines the elements HKTB is striving to create business opportunities for the

tourism and related sectors by stimulating greater visitor spending .To achieve this

objective, the HKTB has re-aligned market prioritisation and increased market

investment to propel the growth of targeted source markets. Efforts have also been

made to open up new visitor sources, which serve to diversify risks and reduce the

impact of market fluctuations, as well as uphold Hong Kong’s image as an international

cosmopolitan and world-class travel destination.

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Tourist arrival Statistics

According to HKBT Work Plan, in 2011, Hong Kong received a record-high of 42 million

visitors from around the world, a remarkable increase of 16.4% over 2010.

Table 1 Arrival Statistics between 2009 and 2011

(’000) 2011 2010 2009

The Americas 1,823 1,750 1,568

Europe, Africa and the Middle East 2,195 2,174 1,969

Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific 756 769 708

North Asia 2,307 2,208 1,823

South & Southeast Asia 3,752 3,501 2,885

Taiwan 2,148 2,165 2,010

Macau 843 780 671

World excl. China 13,824 11,634 -

The Mainland 28,097 22,684 17,957

TOTAL 41,921 36,030 29,591

Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board Work Plan for 2011-12 and 2010-2011

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Table 2: Tourism Performance between 2009 and 2011

2011

Tourism

Performance

2010

Tourism

Performance

2009

Tourism

Performance

Total Arrivals (’000) 41,921 36,030 29,591

Mainland (’000) 28,097* 22,684 17,957

Short-haul Markets (’000) 9,051* 8,654 11,634

Long-haul Markets (’000) 4,773* 4,692

Overnight Visitor Average

Length of Stay (LOS)

3.6 nights* 3.6 nights 3.2 nights

Overall Satisfaction Rating^

(max: 10 pt)

8.3 pt* 8.3 pt 8.3 pt

Overnight Visitor Average

Length of Stay (LOS)

3.6 nights* 3.6 nights Not Available

Overnight Visitor Per Capita

Spending (HK$)

$7,333* $6,728 $5,770

Tourism Expenditure

Associated to Inbound

Tourism1 (HK$billion)

$253.0* $210.0 $162.9

* Estimation as at Dec 2011

^ Excluding same-day, in-town visitors

Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board Work plan for 2011-12 and 2010-2011

Priority Market Targets

According to the HKTB Work plan, the priority markets they are addressing and doing

marketing are segmented as follows

(a) Mainland China(South China, Central China, East China, North China)

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(b) Short-haul Markets(Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, The Philippines,

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand)

(c) Long-haul Markets(USA, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France)

(d) Emerging Markets(India, Russia, The Middle East, Vietnam, The Netherlands)

From the HKBT website they have shown these elements as there ‘see and do’

Highlight Attractions

Events & Festivals Arts & Performance.

Culture & Heritage

Great Outdoors

Tours & Walks

Cruise

According to HKBT Work plan they will stimulate the cruise demand by consumers in

South China. For instance, organize cruise promotion and education activities targeting

retirees and families, two high-potential cruise visitor segments. From these factors the

tourist board seems target art lovers, leisure travellers, Heritage Tourists,

Honeymooners, Cruise Tourism, conference and event tourism, Visiting Family and

Relatives (VFR) Tourism

Selection of Market Targets

For marketing management purposes the total market is divided in segments, a process

called segmentation. ‘In tourism market segmentation and targeting is important, the

strategy is to divide the present and the potential market on the basis of some

characteristics and then concentrate marketing efforts to target markets’(Kumar 2010,p.

283), HBTK has divided the total market into five segments mainly on the basis of place

or origin of tourists, the reason could be that this market target offer the greatest

opportunity in terms of; existing and future sales potential, scale of competition,

successful marketing mix to attract tourists and cost factor involved in each segment.

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As earlier implied HBTK has mainly used country, region and market area for market

division, ‘and people from the same area, people who share common elements in their

lifestyles and culture might have common interests’ (Roger 2003, p. 53), this could have

provided HBTK with a basis to identify the target markets

HBTK understanding of motivation of the target markets

According the traditional utility-maximizing theory of travel behaviour, the choices that

individuals make about travel depend on the utility of each alternative relative to the

utilities of all alternatives. Decisions depend, then, on the set of possible choices, the

set of factors that determine the utility of each alternative, the values of those factors for

each alternative, and the relative contribution of each factor to utility

To consolidate Hong Kong’s image as a premier travel destination, the HKTB has

intensified its efforts to promote quality tourism services in 2012-13: Strategies include

enhancing Hong Kong’s image as a quality destination by using a platform dubbed

Quality and Honest Hong Kong Tours Programme visitors’ experience in Hong Kong

and instil diversity into the tourism products by the local travel trade to develop new

products and increasing the number of promotional windows from six to 10 in 2011-12.

To cater for travellers who trend show have shifted from sightseeing to experience-

based travel that combines entertainment and culture.

Processes of destination choices

Choice has been defined as a transformation of motivation in purchasing action

(Buhalis, 2000). The destination choice is made by alternative evaluation based on

individual preferences and goals, while evaluation of tourist product is based on

individual evaluative criteria (Moutinho, 1987).

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Factors that influence consumer behaviour can be internal and external to the

individual. Among the internal determinants are social and personal, while the external

ones include confidence in the travel agency, the overall image of alternatives, previous

travel experience, travel constraints, degree of perceived risk, etc. Among the major

influences of individual travel behaviour are family, reference groups, social classes,

culture and subculture that determine individual’s personality, learning, motivation,

perception (of alternatives) and attitudes (Moutinho, 1987).

To encourage customers to visit Hong Kong HKTB has indicated that it will invest

prudently according to the market prioritisation and flexibly deploy its resources in 2012-

13. Apart from identifying and nurturing new visitor segments, the HKTB works more

closely with the travel trade to devise new products and raise Hong Kong’s profile

globally, so as to promote sustainable growth of Hong Kong’s tourism.

Determining Levels of Satisfaction

Researching markets allows tourism boards and other organizations to gather a lot of

data and information reflecting customer satisfaction, wants and needs, number of

visits, profiles, characteristics, facilities, activities which are popular among the tourists

and areas that need improvement. Once you have relevant statistics and information

about customers, you will be able to make directed decisions and plans to satisfy

customers and provide a better service.

According to HKBT as in 2010, visitor satisfaction remained at 8.3 points out of 10

points, while the average length of stay among overnight visitors stood at 3.6 nights in

2011. Overnight visitors from both Mainland China and the long-haul markets made the

longest stay at 3.9 nights, also the same as in 2010.

HBTK according the work plan will conduct market study in collaboration with cruise

operators and partnering ports on possible new cruise products, such as Hong Kong-

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Taiwan-Japan-South Korea and Hong Kong-Hainan-Vietnam-Philippines itineraries, so

as to find out the tastes and preferences of different visitor segments and markets and

devise effective promotion of the new products

HKTB planning process also entails a series of formal consultation with stakeholders of

the local industry, including travel agencies, airlines, hotel owners and management,

retailers, food and beverage caterers, attraction operators, as well as academics

Internal Marketing at HKTB

In the context of internal marketing, the employee is the ‘customer’ and the product is

the job and its benefits, internal marketing can be best described as the process by

which an organization accomplishes its organizational objectives and societal

commitments through effective communication of its goals and management of its

internal customers (employees).

While information on whether HKBT performs internal marketing was scanty in the work

plan they indicate that while conducting marketing promotions in the visitor source

markets, they will strive to enhance its corporate governance, such as conducting

regular audit reviews to ascertain compliance, ensuring stringent internal control, and

regularly reviewing and further enhancing its financial policies and procedures.

Competitive Destinations to Hong Kong

As tourism in Hong Kong is gradually moving towards mainland China and the emerging

markets in Asia, it will remain a challenge to maintain the quality of services. The

following are the major competitors of Hong Kong as a Tourist destination

1. Mainland China

2. Macau

3. Singapore

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4. Japan

5. Taiwan

Competitive advantage of Hong Kong over Competitors

The basic premise is that the competitiveness of a nation stems from companies within

that nation. ‘In order to achieve competitive advantage, the focus should be the

development and maintenance of meaningful assets and skills, the selection of

strategies and competitive arenas to exploit such assets and skills and neutralising of

competitor’s assets and skills’ (Aaker 1989, p. 105). The most detailed work undertaken

by tourism researchers on overall tourism competitiveness is that of Crouch and Ritchie

(1989, 2000). To be competitive, a destination’s development of tourism must be

sustainable, not just economically and not just ecologically, but socially, culturally and

politically as well.

HKTB has strategies for maintaining Hong Kong’s market presence, these measures

include but not limited to:

In 2011-12, the HKTB launched the ‘Hong Kong. Asia’s World City’ platform to

showcase Hong Kong’s appeal as a world-class travel destination, including its

international setting, cosmopolitan lifestyle, unique East-meets-West culture and

great diversity of tourism attractions.

As part of their expansion plans, Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland are

going to add further new facilities in 2012 and 2013 on top of those in 2011.

Following the opening of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the Guangzhou-

Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in December 2011, visitors in Central

China can travel even more conveniently to Hong Kong via Shenzhen. The new

transport infrastructure will encourage more Mainland visitors to come to Hong

Kong, and help enhance Hong Kong’s position as a travel hub in the Pearl River

Delta region.

In the past few years, the HKTB has established a close working relationship with

Macau, as well as several Mainland provinces and cities, in promoting multi-

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destination itineraries to the regional and international visitors.

To pave way for the commissioning of the new cruise terminal at Kai Tak in mid-

2013, the HKTB will raise its budget for cruise tourism promotion in 2012-13, with

a view to further capturing the potential of cruise tourism and strengthening Hong

Kong’s position as a cruise hub in Asia.

All this mix of this strategies embodied in infrastructural development, creation of new

products, enhancing of existing resources, partnering with competitors, use of Social

media in promotional campaigns, tapping and investing heavily in established and

emerging markets sets Hong Kong apart from the rest as a premier destination in Asia

Pacific

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References

Aaker, D. 1989, ‘Managing assets and skills: The key to a sustainable competitiveAdvantage’, California Management Review (winter), pp 91–106

Buhalis, D., 2000, ‘Marketing the competitive destination of the future’, Tourism Management, vol.21, iss.1, pp.97-116. 

Moutinho, L 1987, ‘Consumer Behaviour in Tourism’, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 21 iss.10, pp.5 – 44

Ritchie, J.R.B & Crouch G.I 1993,‘Competitiveness in International Tourism: A Framework for Understanding and Analysis’, Proceedings of the 43rd Congress of the Association Internationale d’Experts Scientifique du Tourisme, 17-23 October, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, pp.23-71.

Ritchie, J.R.B& Crouch G.I 2000, ‘The Competitive Destination: A Sustainability Perspective’, Tourism Management, vol.21, iss.1, pp.1-7.

Ritchie, J.R.B & Crouch G.I 2003, The competitive destination: a sustainable tourism perspective, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.

Kumar, P 2010, Marketing for hospitality and tourism, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi

Roger, L 2003, Tourism management in South Africa, Pearson Education, Johannesburg.

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