Substainable Tourism - Research Paper Example

Sentosa Development Corporation The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is a board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the government of Singapore (Chang, 2011). The primary responsibility of the board is to develop various island resorts and tourist destinations such as Sentosa and Pulau Biola and manage their operations and marketing. Direct and Indirect employment SDC manages these properties through a number of subsidiaries. For example, resorts and other facilities on the island of Sentosa are managed by the Sentosa Leisure management company.

The SDC, through its various resorts and tourist parks, provides direct and indirect employment to thousands of people in the nation. For instance, the program to construct various facilities including malls, cinema halls, hotels and casinos on the Sentosa Island was initiated in 2005 by the government of Singapore (Quah, 2010). The primary objective of this project was to create new jobs besides increasing foreign investments and tourism. According to Chen (2009), the focus of the SDC in developing locations along the coastline is generating new avenues for leisure such as yachting and wind-surfing which eventually is contributing to the generation of more jobs for the local population.

The government has also liberalized many leisure activities including gambling along the southern part of Singapore. Besides attracting talent and investment, this move is improving Singapore’s reputation as a liberal city. SDC has taken advantage of these recent changes by establishing several casinos at many of its locations. Bunnell (2010) says that SDC employs over 1000 workers at each of its casinos and provides indirect employment to another 5000 through nearby bars, restaurants, suppliers and hotels.

However, the rise in job creation has been witnessed beyond gaming activities as SDC attracts over 8 million visitors each year (across all parks, resorts and other facilities), thus paving the way for further development of similar infrastructure Chen (2009). Tax Revenue Income tax for the year 2009 was around $6.4 million after adjustments for deferred tax liabilities. Waller (2010) believes that revenue generated during the years 2009-2010 was reduced due to the global economic downturn. This has contributed to a reduction in the internal rate of return for SDC by over 2.5%. The 2009-2010 Annual report released by SDC also reveals that over 50% of the income is generated by constituent theme parks and Casinos (Lewis, 2010).

The entry of other brands in partnership with SDC has also contributed to this revenue. For example, lower fares at Universal Studios in comparison to theme parks in other countries have encouraged larger tourist inflows thus contributing to higher revenues (Chia, 2009). SDC also receives various rebates on property taxes from the government which also contribute to higher income. Customer Satisfaction While SDC offers more than 200 different attractions at its various resorts, there is still room for further improvement.

A survey conducted by Quah (2010) revealed that while customers were satisfied with the various offerings provided to them, they expected much more in terms of detail and expected these diverse attractions to come together to deliver the unique Sentosa experience. This includes training the staff and enhancing their skills to world standards. The CSISG (Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore), an independent survey by the Singapore Management University, has given scores in the range of 65-72 (out of a total of 100) for most of the facilities managed by the SDC (Chia, 2009).

However, the study observed that a significant rise in visitor traffic over the past few years has increased the stress on management and operations of these facilities. Huidobro (2008) says that since the average traveler is better traveled, there is growing pressure on SDC and its subsidiaries to improve their quality and provide a better experience to visitors. References 1. Bunnell (2010), Critical reflections on cities in Southeast Asia. New York: BRILL. 2. Chang (2011), interconnected worlds: tourism in Southeast Asia.

New York: Gulf Professional Publishing. 3. Chen (2009), Singapore development policies and trends. Oxford University Press. 4. Chia (2009), urban coastal area management: the experience of Singapore. The WorldFish Center. 5. Hall (2010), Tourism in South and Southeast Asia: issues and cases. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann. 6. Huff (2008), the Economic Growth of Singapore: Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press. 7. Huidobro (2008), Governance, politics and the environment: a Singapore study.

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 8. Ismail (2009), Southeast Asian culture and heritage in a globalizing world: diverging identities in a dynamic region. New York: Ashgate Publishing. 9. Lewis (2010), Rough guide to Singapore. London: Rough Guides. 10. Quah (2010), Public Administration Singapore-Style. London: Emerald Group. 11. Waller (2010), Landscape planning in Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.