As an international PRT student, I am really interested in world issue related to tourism industry. Thus, I enrolled in the International Tourism class, and created this tourism blog. As we talked before, there are some objectives to achieve for this class at the end of this semester. Now, it is the time for me to sum up and talk about my fulfillment of those goals. No.1 Tourism Related Issue Tourism industry is developing quickly nowadays. There are many elements pulling and pushing this industry from development. International tourism is especially under the influence of various barriers, such as language, culture, and policy. For instance, traveling to a region, where people speaks totally different language will be challenging for those who are not willing to take any risks. And there are many stakeholders in this industry, too. Thus, developing international tourism should take all the elements into consideration, so that it can go on smoothly. The vitality of environmental protection has been highlighted on recent years. In my consideration, eco-tourism is the industry, which meets with the criteria of sustainable development and occupies highest potential for development. Developing countries, including China, should be more open to international organizations, and welcome them to do research in their territory. It is because that most international organizations have adequate capital and rich experience for related issue. In addition, a standard accreditation should be approved in more areas. Only in this way can we standardize our development, and do make our tourism industry contribute the environmental protection. Addressing eco-tourism is not only for a certain country or simply making revenue, but also for the entire world. With the background of globalization, any domestic problems will influence the global environmental balance for sure. That is why we need to develop eco-tourism for our global community, rather than any individuals. As I said before, many stakeholders want to benefit from expanding tourism industry. But they tend to have totally different perspectives and requirements. Stakeholders in Tourism Industry
No.2 Project Reflection This blog is a part of my social awareness project, which is used to research and promote the tourism in a certain area. The resaon why I chose China for this project, is not simply because that I am a Chinese. I want to know more about tourism in China so that I can know what I can do to make a difference in my future career. Now, when I look back what I have done in this semester, I do find it is a very valuable experience.
What We Can Do From my past blogs, you will be able to know there are my problems existing within pricing in Chinese tourism, but there are something we can do, which will lead to a better and more enjoyable environment for tourists. Here, I would like to share my ideas.
No.3 Writing Requirement Fulfillment As an exchange student, though it is tough for me to do as good as a domestic students, I was supposed to improve my English writing skills through the whole-semester practice. Actually, I think I do achieve this goal. With the help from Professor Linda Ralston, and staffs in school writing center, I am now able to write what I wan to say without spending too much time on thinking about grammar. What is more, now I find it is not that difficult to achieve the word number requirement. As we need to write blogs for this class, I need to search Internet resource. It used to be the most troubling thing for me, because I feel the language barrier is so hard to overcome. But now, on the contrary, it is a great experience for me from learning on-line. There is more adequate resource on the Internet in English, which is helpful for me to write blogs and enrich my knowledge. Nevertheless, it is also a good opportunity for me to write and cooperate with different media. In order to make my blogs more convincing and attractive, I tried to find graphics and videos related to my topic. In this process, I was able to learn more about my proposed topic, and utilize them into my writing. And I also put my articles into different social medias, such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter, to attractive more traffic in my blog site. However, it is quite different when you post on different platforms. For example, if I want to post on social media, I would prefer easy and casual words. But if when I was writing my blog, I tent to use more professional vocabulary. Though it is still challenging for me to adjust my writing style to different situation, I believe I am improving gradually. Last but not the least, this class offered me with a lot of opportunities to practice my language skills. Sometimes, we need to fill out the some forms, while sometimes we need to write discussion notes. Even there was a time when we grouped up and worked together in the class to prepare a presentation for endangered places. With time limitation, I was required to express myself clearly and come up with as many ideas as possible. Though they challenged my both writing and oral English skills, I feel they do help me with my improvement. At last, I would like to thank my instructor, Linda Ralston, she is always willing to give me instruction and help!
Introduction I designed, and drew this infographic for my class, PRT 5610. This infographic is made to introduce tourism in China, and my ideas for how you can be a smart traveler in China. In order to do so, I decided to make it into 3 parts.
Brief Introduction and Background Information The tourism Law, which is approved in April, and came into effect on 1. October, 2013, is the first law that used to regulates the tourism industry in China. The 112 articles cover almost every concept of tourism industry in China, such as tourist safety, unfair competition and forced shopping trips. How it affects domestic and international tourism As listed above, China's tourism law focuses on promotion the quality of tourism products. However, on the contrary, it tends to raise the price at the same time. The forced shopping trip was frequently added to Chinese travel packages, since it is a chief method to lower the price. But now, according to this tourism law, this phenomenon was no longer legal to exist. As CNN reported in China's first tourism law comes into effect, tourists issued manners guide, that a total of 250 Chinese tourist groups registered to come to Hong Kong on October 1, 2013, Hong Kong's National Day, 30% fewer than last year. As you can see, those shopping sites and travel agencies surely suffered from this law. But for those inbound tourists, who comes from developed countries, it is obviously a good sign. They care little about the price but do concern their safety and the travel quality. So I am sure that this tourism law will benefit those agencies who focus on inbound tourists. My Reflection Though the tourism law banned the forced shopping trip, it does not means Chinese tourists are not allowed to go shopping while traveling. How the local business attracts them to shop consciously is a question we should consider. From my perspective, promoting the quality and particularity of products and service is what we can do and shall do at once.
This tourism law encourages higher quality, longer staying visitors and more FIT visitors. The tourism related industries in destination should capture this opportunity, and try to upgrade their products and service. What is Hainan? Hainan, which is the second largest island of China, has an area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi) and is China's southernmost province. It is famous for tropical scenery, pleasant climate, unique culture, and fresh seafood. I had lived in Haikou, which is the capital of Hainan, for more than two years, so I know this is really a terrific place for a visit. Program Details On April 20, 2011, a duty-free program commenced in order to increase luxury goods purchases. It permits domestic Chinese visitors to claim tax refunds on imported luxury items purchased within the province. The maximum value is set at 5,000 yuan (US$762), with lowered tax rates on purchases over 5,000 yuan. Each person can enjoy this off-shore duty-free policy twice a year, when shopping in the authorized stores. Check out this website for more information. In October 2012, duty limits were raised to 8,000 yuan ($1,273), and became available to both domestic and international tourists. According to the report from Xinhua News Agency, Offshore duty-free shopping in Hainan Province surged in 2013, with total sales reaching 3.3 billion yuan (540 million U.S. dollars), up 40 percent year on year. Why Hainan? As you can see, this policy do promote tourism and local economy in Hainan. But why Hainan is the first one to eat tomato? I have summarized several reasons below, according to my understanding.
What to Do in The Future? I have come up with several ideas for this program and its further development.
Overview of Hangzhou Hangzhou is located in Southeast coast of China. It is the capital of Zhejiang Province. Hangzhou is a top tourism city, historical city and vice provincial level city of China. With beautiful landscapes and rich cultural background, Hangzhou is renowned as “Paradise on Earth”, “Cultural State”, “Home of Silk”, “Tea Capital”, “Town of Fish and Rice”. For more information, please check the official English website of Hangzhou. Hangzhou Tourism Mode The video briefly introduces the reason to success of Hangzhou, being free. But what things are actually free in Hangzhou? I listed several below.
My Reflection You can easily get to the conclusion that being free sometimes means making more money in tourism industry. It is true that not all the tourism city can do the same as Hangzhou. Hangzhou do have somethings in special. Many scenic spots in Hangzhou is located in downtown, which means it is hard to separate them from the city. What is more, they also required less capital on conservation. But I still think we can learn something from Hangzhou.
Brief Introduction HZTC, short for Hangzhou Travel Center,was founded in 2003. The main services of HZTC is to proivide free or cheap transportation, hotel booking , travel information, and ticketing to both domestic and foreign tourists . To explore more, you are welcome to visit the offical site of HZTC. How It Fulfills the Cornerstones for Fair Trade and Responsible Tourism Fair Working Conditions: HZTC is founded by Hangzhou Government, which means it tends to give best welfare to employees. The employees of HZTC are also likely to enjoy the convenience of the travel center. The public transportation is more than easy for them to make use of. Fair Prices: It is really an enjoyable experience to choose HZTC! Once you arrive at the HZTC, you can transfer to public transportation in HZTC, you can be exempt of parking fee. What is more, the pubic transportation is also fair in price. The bus system (starting from 2 RMB), and metro system (starting from 3 RMB) is very cheap. You are also welcome to used free bicycle service. Integration Into the Local Economy and Regional Development: HZTC is not only for the tourists from other regions. On the contrary, it contributes much to local development. HZTC uses its advantages of pricing to attract tourists, and encourage them to buy the local tourism related services, such as hotel, dining, and travel attraction tickets. All of these stimulate the development of local economy. Fair Trade Partnerships Between All Actors in Tourism: As you can see from last paragraph, HZTC stimulates the development of all sectors of tourism in Hangzhou. Furthermore, when tourists save a lot of time and money on transportation, they are more likely to spend dollars on local business. Sustainable Resource Use and Environmental Justice: Tourists transfer to public transportation in HZTC sites. It can not only reduce the condition of trafic jam in tourist attractions, but also reduce the negative impact of emission from private cars. It really contributes to the environmental protection in Hangzhou.
Brief Introduction Ljiang (丽江) is a city in the northwest part of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of 21,219 square kilometers and a population of 1,244,769 as of 2010 census. Lijiang is famous for its long history and splendid culture. The Old Town of Lijiang has a history of more than 800 years. Lijiang is the only place using Dongba characters, which has more than a 1000-year-old history. What is more, Naxi ancient music in Lijaing also is considered as the origin of Chinese musical form. All of these unique characteristics made Lijiang approved to be a UNESCO Heritage Site. Besides the culture, Lijiang occupies beautiful natural scenic spots. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the most frequented travel attraction there. You can go to the offical Lijiang Tourist Administration website for more information. How Lijiang Fulfills Ecotourism Lijiang is a leading site promoting ecotourism in China. Since my emphasis area in this blog is Pricing in China, I would like to highlight the usage of fund that contributes to ecotourism. In my opinion, it fulfills the ecotourism criteria below: a. It should provide long-term benefits -to the resource, to the local community, and to industry (benefits may be conservation, scientific, social, cultural, or economic. b. It should play an active role in conserving the natural resources, which provide the visitors their experience. Improve Living Quality Since 2003, Lijiang government has distributed two million Yuan to the Old Town residents every year. It also provides free pubic transportation to local people. What the government has done is to encourage local residents to take tge responsibility of preserving the Old Town from over development. Encourage Scientific Research The Global Heritage Fund provided 2.31 million Yuan on recovering 299 historic local residences. It promoted the research of Naxi architectures, and contributed to the conservation of local culture. Preserve Ancient Culture 9.62 million Yuan has been devoted to preserve Naxi culture since 2002. In addition, 10 million Yuan every year is used to take back the right of managing stores on the Old Town. Instead, many culture showcase rooms have been built up within the Old Town. They are used to promote and develop the unique culture in Lijiang. Conserve Natural Resource Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is impacted by over development. Thus, Lijiang government chose to raise the prices of entrance fee and ropeway to limit the number of visitors. Does this make sense? I don't quite agree! Since compared with transportation and accommodation, the entrance and ropeway fee are not that unacceptable. Travelers who came a long way to Lijiang will not save that amount of money. However, it does benefit the tourism industry in Lijiang, and increase the cost of tourists. Is that real ecotourism? I think we need further discusion. All in all, Lijiang still does a good job in developing ecotourism. And I encourage other regions in China that hope to develop tourism should learn something from Lijiang.
what prevent you from going to China for a visit? The political consideration? The long distance? Have you ever thought about the cost? It is the truth that the general price level of all products in China is much more lower than in the USA. But it is not that case when you are traveling!
Hainan is one of the famous travel destinations in China. If you want to visit Southern Mountain in Sanya, Hainan, the admission fee is 168 RMB. When you want to go to restroom, it will surprise you that there is no paper towel provided. You can either choose to not go, or you should pay 5 RMB to buy it! Actually, all the tourism products in China are not friendly in price. The accommodation is expensive, the ticket is expensive, and the souvenir is expensive! Do you think that those are the only problems you will meet with? Sorry, it is not that easy! When you are traveling, you must also take care of being cheated! It also happens in Sanya. There was a report that shocked the whole nation, that a restaurant charged customers 4000 RMB for only 3 dishes! It is said that the waiter killed the fish as soon as the customer asked the price. And then he said it is 1160 RMB per kilogram, and forced customers to buy it. It is horrible, right? That is what I want to talk about. The pricing in Chinese tourism really needs our attention. Local governments always raise the price to profit from taxes. But it is true that the high price has shaken the determination of going to China for a visit. What we can do to change this dilemmas? Who should be responsible for this situation? I won’t say that all the tourist destinations in China are unwise in pricing. There are still some good examples for other city to model after, such as Hangzhou. What they do to lower price, and promote profit at the same time? I will talk about them later in my other blogs. Please leave me any comments or questions, and communicate with me. If you can take 1 minute to check out my survey for this blog, I will appreciate it a lot! |
AuthorGejiang Huang, an exchange student in University of Utah, is now majoring in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Archives
August 2014
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