International Tourism and Hospitality Business - Case Study Example

The Running Head: Tourism Business In Singapore (Your Name) (University) Abstract The report addresses the viability of Singapore for its development as a tourist destination. It looks at the natural resources available in Singapore that can help to boost tourist business in the area. From the research it has been established that Singapore has many natural features that range from beaches to game parks. The report also talks about the conditions of the infrastructure in Singapore. The infrastructure in the country is well established with all places connected with good roads. The other thing addressed in the report is the government policies towards foreign investments. The government policies in the country highly encourage foreign investments. The report also focuses on the effects that this business will cause to the Singaporean community. These impacts include creating employment opportunities, raising the standard of living of the Singaporean and can contribute to environmental degradation. (Murphy 1991) Introduction Singapore is comprised of a main Island that measures 682km2 and other 63 small neighbouring isles. Singapore experiences tropical climatic conditions. Therefore the climate in Singapore is hot and humid with adequate rainfall through out the year. It has a booming economy growth due to its strategic location that has made it to be the gateway to all the East Asia. This has enabled it to become a major centre of trade, communication and tourism. Its airport that acts as a main hub has also facilitated this. Its airport serves 69 airlines that help to connect to all parts of the word. The communication in the country is very effective due to Singapore’s superb communication network and their use of English as the national language that is used in administration purposes. Singapore has well-established infrastructures. The major forms of transport in Singapore are the road transport and railway transport. The medical facilities in Singapore are very good because Singapore is the hub for medical facilities in Asia. Singapore has a democratic government system. The government’s officials are elected after a period five years. The current government is greatly committed to boost tourism in the country. It has set $2 billions as tourism developments funds. Problem The issue under consideration is the viability of developing a tourist destination in Singapore. There is also a need to determine the prevailing conditions of Singapore and predict the impacts that the tourism industry will have on the community in Singapore. Aim And Objectives The aim of this report is to investigate the viability of Singapore as a tourist destination in order to make appropriate recommendation whether to develop the area as a tourist destination. Objectives 1. To determine the natural features present in Singapore that can make it a good Tourist Site 2. To determine the likely impact of tourism industry to Singapore community 3. To determine Singapore government policy towards foreign investment 4. To advocate to the board of directors whether Singapore is the best place to invest the tourism business. Literature Review. To inform this research and it’s finding a literature review was carried out. The literature review is defined by (Murphy P. (1991) T Tourism A Community Approach.London:Routledge ).This literature review discusses on the natural features that makes a place to become a good tourist destination. It also gives the impacts of tourism industry on the community and a country in general. This was necessary in order to guide discussion presented later in this report. Types of Tourism Tourism is a recreational or leisure time activity where people travel and stay in places outside their usual environment for a period of time not exceeding one consecutive year. There exist three kinds of tourism. These are; Domestic tourism-This is whereby people travel within their own country to visit some areas that are away from their home area during their free time. Inbound tourism-This form of tourism occurs when non-residents travel into a given country to explore various natural features which are not present in their country. Outbound tourism-This is where residents move from one country to another country. (Murphy 1991) Reason Why People Tour Different Places Tourism is very informative. Travellers learn about their destinations and also the measures the communities have taken to sustain the good scenery. The local people on the other hand learn the value of the ordinary things that they take for granted. Through this process they learn to respect and protect their nature. (Pearse1997) Tourism maintains integrity of places. The tourists are attracted by the businesses that emphasize on the nature of their surrounding. They favour businesses that promote local heritage, aesthetic, architecture and ecology. The tourism revenues helps the local people to have a high perception of the local assets that they take for granted. (Pearse1997) Tourism benefits residents. Tourism industry is accompanied by huge investments in terms of hotels and boost local businesses. These businesses employ local people. The tourists on the other hand buy local products and services. In this way tourism helps to create employment opportunities to thousands of the residents. Tourism also helps to improve the infrastructures, water and sewage system, electrification and security of places. This in turn helps to raise the standard of living of the people living in these locales. (Pearse1997) Tourism helps to conserve resources. The industry advocates environmental awareness to the residents and the tourist. They encourage the tourism hotels to ensure they reduce pollution, waste, waters usage and energy consumption. This helps to sustain natural habitants, heritage and local cultures. This guarantees the satisfaction of the visitors who encourage their friends at home to visit these places and experience the same treatment. (Pearse1997) It respects local culture and tradition. Foreign visitors learn and observe local etiquette, including using at least a few courtesy words in the local language. Residents on the other hand learn how to deal with foreign culture. Helps the residents to respect and appreciate foreign cultures. (Pearse1997) METHODOLOGY Primary Research The research involved preparing questioners that ware to be filled by all the relevant parties in the research. The questioners were requiring the visiting tourists to offer reasons why they choose Singapore as their destination. The questioners were also addressing the Singapore prevailing policies towards foreign investment. The other method that was used to collect data was the use of camera to take photographs. The photographs taken include the photographs of the natural habitats that are present in Singapore, the Singapore beaches and the photographs of some of the infrastructure present. Secondary research In order to get the validity of the primary data collected, the primary data was supplemented by the data that was collected from the following Http/www.nparks.gov.sg.abtnpb/ceo.htm website about the tourism in Singapore. Presentation and analysis of information The tourism industry in Singapore is very well developed. In the latest figures of the tourist who visited the country in October 2006 was as follows From the information collected from the research it was determined that the following are the reasons that make tourism industry prevail well in Singapore; Singapore Good Infrastructure The public transport in Singapore accounts for 52.4% of the transport. This transport is mainly land-based. Singapore has a well network of roads that connects all parts of Singapore. These roads ensure an easy access to all parts in Singapore including the Santos and Jurong Inlands. The railway network in Singapore is well established. This makes it the second major form of transport in Singapore. Land transport authority manages the public transport. This authority regulates fares and ensures the railways; buses and taxes are in good conditions. They advocate installation of air conditioners in the buses due to Singapore’s tropical climates. The major aim of this authority is to encourage the use of public means to minimize air pollution and traffic congestion in the central district. Changi airport in Singapore is a major hub for many airlines it serves 167 cities in 53 countries. The ferry boats help to transport people from one island to the next in Singapore. The Singapore port is among the world’s busiest port. This helps also to enhance the accessibility of Singapore. Therefore the good infrastructure in the country can facilitate the movement of the visitors from one area to the other within the country. This makes this area a viable place for the development of the tourist business. Singapore Good Government Policy The Singaporeans are mostly Chinese but the government has embraced all local heritages and promotes a racial social harmony within the country. This has boosted Singapore greatly as a major tourist destination from all over the world. The Singapore government has realized the importance of private sector as the vehicle for their economical growth, employment opportunity and revenue generation. To achieve this, the ministry of trade has set up policies that encourage foreign investors to invest in Singapore. These policies include introduction of reduced custom duties. Introduction of these policies that advocates for few restrictions on foreign exchange transactions help to promote foreign investors to invest in the country. The Singapore government has set $2 billion to develop the tourist industry. This money is to be used to improve the infrastructure in the country. Some of the money will also be used to attract iconic events that will help to make Singapore a major place for leisure and businesses. This move by the government will greatly improve tourism in the country. The use of English language as the teaching language in schools and also as the administrative language has greatly boosted tourism in the country. This has helped to overcome language barriers since most of the tourists who visit Singapore’s are from English speaking countries. Singapore Richness In Natural Features Singapore has many beaches that offer the tourists opportunities to participate in various water sports such as rowing or skiing. On the other hand the presence of many Islands that are not developed such as Pulau Ubin in the country gives the visitors an opportunity for enjoying camping, swimming, cycling and walking. (APEC Tourism Working Group 1996)) The area has also numerous rivers and natural vegetation that also adds to the beauty of the area. These rivers also provide an opportunity to the tourist to extend their water sports to these areas and also enable them to do fishing. The natural vegetation on the other hand helps to modify the climate of this place and acts as the habitant of thousands of beach insects and birds that fascinate the tourist who visit Singapore very much. Hence a tourism business can do very well in this area. (Butter1980). These good natural sceneries are located in Islands such as the Pulau Ubin, which are not very developed. Other places that are worthy visiting include the museums or World War II heritages. Due to Singapore’s diverse religions and cultures there are many festivals held through out the year. The major events that attracts tourist very much include the Singapore fashion festivals, Great Singapore sale and Singapore International Film Festivals held in march, may and April respectively. Impacts on the Community The establishment of the tourism business will help to add employment opportunities to the Singaporean. This is because some people will be employed as cooks, drivers and managers in the tourist hotels. The establishment of this business in the Singapore’s undeveloped areas such as the Pulau Ubin will help to improve the infrastructure, sewage system and electrification in these areas. On the other hand the business can contribute to degradation of the environment in these areas through pollutions from the car exhaust fumes. Conclusion and recommendation. Tourism in Singapore is very advanced. In October 2006 Singapore recorded that 857,000 visitors toured the country. This has been facilitated by the country’s strategic location that makes it accessible from all parts of the world. The presence of Changi airport which is major hub for many airlines has also contributed for tourism effectiveness in the country. The availability of good governance in the country that finances the tourism industry has also boosted this industry. Therefore the board of directors of the hotel intending to invest their hotel business in Singapore should then go ahead and do so. This is because if they take a longer time and elections are held before investing, the incoming government can change the tourism policies in Singapore and even stop funding the industry. These policies might be very tough for the foreign investors. Thus these changes can make it very difficult for the directors of these chains of hotels to invest in Singapore. In Singapore there are many more established tourists’ hotels such as Shangri-La Hotel and Meritus Mandarin Hotel. Therefore by establishing their hotels there they will face a very stiff competition from these other hotels. Singapore is also a very viable location for establishment of the tourist business. This is because of the good infrastructure that is present in the country. This will ensure smooth travel of the tourists in all parts of the country. The location of this business will have great effect on the Singaporeans, as it will increase their employment opportunities. It will also improve the infrastructure of the country if it is located in the undeveloped places. This is because it will force the government to construct good infrastructure to enable easy access of these places by the visitors. On the other hand the establishment of these hotels in the country can result to increase in the rate of pollution due to excessive exhaust fumes from the vehicles. This can then lead to environmental degradation. This pollution of the environment can have negative impact on the tourism industry in the future that will adversely affect the tourism businesses. Hence proper measures should be put in place to minimize pollution in order to sustain high turn over of tourists in the country. This will guarantee good performance of the hotels established at present and also in the future. From this discussion I would recommend the board of directors to go ahead and invest in Singapore, as it’s a very strategic choice for the business. (Butter1980). References APEC Tourism Working Group (1996) Environmentally Sustainable Tourism in APEC member Economics Singapore: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat. Butter, R.W. (1980).The concept of tourist area cycle of evolution: Implications for management of resources Canadian Geographer 24(1), 5-12. Murphy P. (1991) Tourism A Community Approach. London: Rutledge Parse, D (1997) tourism Development .Harlow. Longman. Http/www.nparks.gov.sg.abtnpb/ceo.htm Read More