Graduates Move into Exciting Future Hotel Business a ... · task that demands perseverance,...

New Home for School

Graduates Move into Exciting Future

Hotel Business a Passion for Wilson Lee

Unique Offerings from Graduate Programmes

New Home for School




School of Hotel and Tourism Management

Publisher: Kaye Chon

Managing Editor: Pauline Ngan

Consulting Editor: Armstrong-Hilton Ltd.

Design: Creative Path

Printer: Impact Printing & Graphics Co. Ltd.

Horizons is published by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management for friends, alumni, staff and students of the School.

Contributions from readers are welcome in the form of articles and photographs. All contributions should be sent to: Editor, Horizons, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR.

The Editor reserves final editing rights on all material submitted for publication.

Telephone: (852) 3400 2634Fax: (852) 2356 1390Email: [email protected]: www.polyu.edu.hk/htm

Message from Director of School 2

SHTM on the Move 3A new premises and innovative internships

16th Congregation Points to Exciting Future 5SHTM graduates ready for success

A Passionate Hotelier 7Outstanding Alumni of the Year Mr Wilson Lee

Developing Executives 8Highlights of the Hong Kong Winter School and Other SHTM Executive Development Programmes

Graduate Programmes Forging Ahead 10New intakes for unparalleled DHTM and Master programmes

Research HorizonsHighlights of staff research on medical tourism, corporate governance in the hospitality industry, what hospitality students find important about internships, attitudes towards environmental management systems in international hotels, the service quality of online travel agencies, and airline service failure and recovery

Mainland China Programmes 13Enthusiastic gatherings in Shenzhen and Hangzhou

In Brief 14SHTM activities, achievements and staff changes in the spotlight

Industry Talk 17Mr Chris Knop on social responsibility in the hotel industry

Attachment in the Middle East 18Reflections from Dr Karin Weber on Oman

Elite of the Elite 19Student Achievement Awards recognise dedication

Student Activities 20Observations from Macau and hard work in Hong Kong

Alumni Association 21Association bids farewell to Millennium Training Restaurant, and latest updates

Professor for a Day Programme 23Warmest thanks to our professors for a day

Upcoming Events 25

Contents

Where Innovations in HospitalityEnrich World Experiences

Students celebrate opening of the SHTM’s new premises

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HORIZONS

Director’s Message

Message fromDirector of School

Moving from a position of leadership in any field to being a true icon of excellence is a task that demands perseverance, initiative and considerable foresight. In this issue of Horizons we document the SHTM’s latest efforts in that direction, beginning with the

news that we have now moved into our new premises in the complex that also houses Hotel ICON, adjacent the PolyU campus in Tsim Sha Tsui East.

As preparations continue for the Hotel’s opening, we also cover the internship programmes that it will offer to selected SHTM students. These are no ordinary placements, and range from an elite management programme that will help train future industry leaders to part-time work arrangements.

Another feature of this issue is our coverage of the PolyU 16th Congregation (SHTM), taking in all of the excitement, optimism and anticipation of the challenges ahead for our latest batch of graduates. The rewards of a career in hospitality and tourism can be rich indeed, as exemplified by 2010 SHTM Outstanding Alumni Mr Wilson Lee, whose passion and commitment to the hotel business we highlight in these pages.

Maintaining that industry focus, this issue also features contributions from two guest writers. Mr Chris Knop, Director of Avasara, a hospitality consultancy in Hong Kong and Macau, writes about social responsibility for hotels and the guidance provided by the new ISO 26000 standard. The SHTM’s Dr Karin Weber reports on her industry attachment in Oman, offering an overview of the country’s efforts to attract tourists and the MICE project to which she provided advice.

With the 2010-2011 academic year now well underway and Hotel ICON’s grand opening scheduled for the coming spring, we are moving into an exciting time for research, teaching and practice. As always, Horizons will be reporting each step of our journey further into excellence.

Professor Kaye ChonChair Professor and DirectorSchool of Hotel and Tourism ManagementThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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School of Hotel and Tourism ManagementSchool of Hotel and Tourism Management

Moving to a Higher Level

A new chapter in the SHTM’s stellar development opened in late December when staff and students

moved into its recently constructed premises on Science Museum Road in Tsim Sha Tsui East, adjacent to the PolyU campus. An impressive construction at 28 storeys, the complex has three components: the SHTM home base, a teaching and research hotel, and the PolyU staff quarters. Standing tall against the tourist strip skyline, the complex is a statement of intent in an ongoing quest for excellence.

Since its inception in 1979, the SHTM, originally named the Department of Institutional Management and Catering Studies, has continually broken new ground in hospitality and tourism education, training and research. Now with the new complex at the heart of its education model, the School is looking to improve hospitality and tourism education not only in the region, but also around the world.

Reflecting on the School’s accomplishments over thirty years at a special cocktail party to farewell its Millennium Training Restaurant, PolyU President, Professor Timothy Tong, emphasised that achievers never rest on their laurels. There were, he mentioned to assembled SHTM staff, more “important and challenging tasks ahead for you all”. Acknowledging the emergence of Asia as the centre of global tourism, Professor Tong saw the SHTM playing a leading role in guiding education and research in hotel and tourism management.

SHTM Director, Professor Kaye Chon, echoed that sentiment. “As a purpose-driven school”, he commented, “we are constantly pushing into new areas”. This has been particularly true under Professor Chon’s guidance, with the SHTM assuming world leadership in hospitality and tourism research and scholarship in recent years.

Looking ahead, Professor Chon said that “we are confident that the international status of the School as a world-class institution will be further strengthened through the success of Hotel ICON”, the school’s soon-to-be-completed teaching and research hotel.

SHTM Relocation

Professor Timothy Tong (fourth from left), Professor Walter Yuen (second from left) and Professor Kaye Chon (third from left) with SHTM staff and students

The new training restaurant – Bistro 1979

Professor Timothy Tong speaking at the cocktail party to farewell the School’s Millennium Training Restaurant

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HORIZONS

SHTM Relocation

Grooming the Leaders of Tomorrow Today

One of the crucial ways in which the SHTM will advance as an educational institution, and in turn advance the industry that supports it, will continue to be through the provision of internships for the next generation of tourism practitioners and hoteliers. In this task, Hotel ICON will play a very important role.

The Hotel has already provided summer internships for selected SHTM students as part of the preparations for the grand opening scheduled in spring. Director of Human Capital, Ms Judy Hou, explained that the students had been placed in an “intensive programme” that allowed them “more in-depth” experience in a particular role than a normal internship would permit.

Building on this foundation, a broader approach to placements will commence in June. Internships will be offered to rigorously selected students put forward by the SHTM in four distinct programmes: the elite management programme, the specialist programme, the summer intensive programme and the part-time programme.

Ms Hou pointed out that the sort of training provided in the elite programme would more usually be offered to graduates accepted into management training programmes when starting with hotel chains. Comprising a 48-week ‘sandwich’ placement between the second and third years of study, the programme will groom a select few outstanding students to become industry leaders.

The elite programme will involve interns working in ‘mirror’ positions to departmental managers, with responsibilities for making business decisions, supervising staff, and mentoring Year One students who are also undertaking internships at the Hotel. This will mean that candidates must have already completed an internship after their first year of study.

Held over 24 weeks between the first and second years of study, the specialist programme will have a larger intake of students who will gain experience in specific functions, including food and beverage service, food and beverage production, rooms and administration. They will also be expected to develop their interpersonal skills and cultivate positive attitudes.

The summer intensive programme will take place over 10 weeks from June to August, allowing interns to gain a general understanding of hotel operations through practical work experience. The part-time programme will be offered not as a block but as 400 hours of part-time work that will allow selected students to gain experience in different parts of the hotel.

With Hotel ICON’s opening fast approaching and the SHTM now settled into its new base, the stage is set for the two to take on the world and be truly brilliant together.

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516th Congregation

Latest Graduates Ready forSuccess

The SHTM’s latest cohort of 563 graduates prepare to take up hospitality and tourism careers at a very exciting time for the industry, according to many

of the speakers at the PolyU 16th Congregation (SHTM) held at the Jockey Club Auditorium on 5 November 2010. Receiving degrees and diplomas this year were 7 PhD, 4 MPhil, 79 MSc, 262 BSc, 55 BA and 156 HD graduates.

Both the morning and afternoon sessions of the Congregation began with the customary parade of students and staff from the Che-woo Lui Hotel and Tourism Resource Centre to the Jockey Club Auditorium, led by bagpipers in traditional Scottish dress. The sessions were officially opened by PolyU Vice President (Research Development) and Chairman of Board of School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Professor Alexander Wai.

Congratulating each new graduate on their transformation from “someone who learns to someone who earns”, the first session’s Guest of Honour Mr James Tien, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, told them that they were entering “the industry at a time of optimism and opportunity”.

Mr Tien added that Hong Kong’s tourism industry had not only weathered the storm of the 2008-2009 economic downturn, but was expected to realise 20% growth in visitor arrivals this year. “The conditions at the start of your journey could hardly be more favourable”, he commented.

Hong Kong is ideally placed to take advantage of the strong tourism growth in the Asia-Pacific region, which the United Nations World Tourism Organisation expects to be the world’s fastest-growing by 2020, and its proximity to mainland China, the leading source of Hong Kong arrivals.

Indeed, Mr Chanin Donavanik, Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International and Guest of Honour at the Congregation’s second session remarked that Hong Kong, though an international city, should not lose sight of its Asian heritage. Paying tribute to his mother, “Thailand’s First Lady of Hospitality” and Dusit International founder Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, Mr Donavanik emphasised that “the Asian style of hotels and services have something to offer that is different from the West”.

Mr James Tien, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board,

addressing the first session

Mr Chanin Donavanik, Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International, speaking at the second session

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HORIZONSHORIZONS

16th Congregation

Noting his mother’s belief that with proper education and training the young generation can become “great ambassadors” for Asia’s hospitality industry, he expressed his confidence in the positive contribution that this year’s graduates will make to both the region and the industry.

Two stellar examples of such young ambassadors are Charlotte Fong and Josephy Yeung, fresh BSc in Hotel Management graduates who gave inspiring valedictory addresses during the Congregation. Both credited the international exposure they gained during their studies at the SHTM with expanding their horizons and strengthening their commitment to a career in the hospitality sector.

For Ms Fong, the turning point in her studies was an internship at a Chicago hotel, during which she became the highest earning server. She now has an exciting job in a five-star hotel in Hong Kong. “Graduation is not an end”, she said, “but rather a beginning”.

Ms Yeung, whose minor in International Business and participation in numerous international study trips indicate her commitment to an internationally oriented career, was excited about the Asian Wave sweeping the tourism world. “The greatness of the hospitality industry”, she commented, “is that it enhances the exchange of cultures and brings people together”.

Ms Yeung urged her graduating class to never lose faith in their own ability. “The future is guaranteed to be exciting”, she said. “The world is full of challenges, but it is also

full of opportunities and possibilities”.

In closing his speech during the first session, Mr Tien put that in even more concrete terms to the graduating students: “as future captains of our tourism industry, you will take the helm and steer our industry to

an even brighter future”. The SHTM congratulates all of the graduates, and expects to hear about their career achievements in the near future.

Ms Charlotte Fong, BSc in Hotel Management graduate

Ms Josephy Yeung, BSc in Hotel Management graduate

Professor Alexander Wai, PolyU Vice President (Research Development) and Chairman of Board of School declares the Congregation open

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2010 Outstanding Alumni of the Year

A Passion


for the Business

Passion is a byword for Mr Wilson Lee, the 2010 SHTM Outstanding Alumni of the Year. With an obvious and contagious enthusiasm for the hotel

business, Mr Lee is both a deserving recipient of the award and an exemplary hotelier.

A Higher Diploma graduate in 1988, Mr Lee harnessed his energy and determination in moving from a receptionist at the Regent in Hong Kong (now the InterContinental) to General Manager of the Andaz Hotel in Shanghai, by way of a challenging but ultimately rewarding career.

Receiving his award at the PolyU 16th Congregation (SHTM) in November, Mr Lee advised fresh graduates that “you have to allow yourselves to work hard; don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty”. Yet drawing further on his own experience he also encouraged them to “continue to learn, to travel and to expand your views on everything that you experience, the people that you meet”.

Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Lee was quick to point out that he always calls his work environment the “hotel business” rather than the “hotel industry”. There is, he said, nothing particularly industrial about it. Manual work does feature in every hotel job, but there is also something more – “you need to put your heart and soul into it”.

Mr Lee has been generous in his support for the SHTM, offering internships to undergraduates during his time at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong and serving as a mentor in the School’s mentorship programme. His

advice to mentees is both optimistic and realistic. He tells them that they can’t go “straight into a good hotel and be a sales manager”. The process of building a career might be long, he tells them, but the reward can be great.

A perfect example of that is Mr Lee’s own appointment as General Manager of the Andaz Hotel in Shanghai, only the sixth in a chain of boutique hotels by the Hyatt Corporation. He is, he said, “very honoured and humbled” by the faith the corporation has in him, and excited by the task ahead.

Mr Lee’s own words in accepting his award summarise his attitude best. He asked graduates to always recall just one thing. “Passion. Please remember and enjoy that”.

The School congratulates Mr Lee on receiving the 2010 SHTM Outstanding Alumni Award, and wishes him well as he brings passion to his new role in Shanghai.

Mr Wilson Lee, recipient of the 2010 SHTM Outstanding Alumni Award, addressing the Congregation

HORIZONS

New Perspectives for Forward Thinking Executives

A primary role of the SHTM is to feed research findings and other forms of expertise back to its principal support base – the hospitality and tourism industry. Each year it organises the Hong Kong PolyU Winter

School and a host of other executive development programmes to ensure that practitioners are kept abreast of the latest findings and trends that matter.

Interactive Learning Features at Winter School

A distinct feature of the 2011 Hong Kong PolyU Winter School held on 17-29 January was the interactive nature of its modular design. The two-week programme featured six sessions led by SHTM faculty members and other educators, all designed to immerse hospitality executives from around the region in hands-on problem solving, case analysis and in-depth discussion.

Delivered mainly on the PolyU campus with the final module at Hong Kong Disneyland, the Winter School was co-organised with the Hong Kong Hotels Association and sponsored by the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the Royal Garden Hotel and the Institute of Hospitality.

Kicking off the series of modules was the SHTM’s Dr Qu Xiao, who led participants through a two-day engagement with hotel investment and development strategies. The aim was for senior hotel leaders to develop the ability to critically analyse and solve decision-making problems related to hotel investment and development, covering areas such as commercial real estate, managing the partnership between owner operators and lenders and maximising hotel value before and after opening.

The second module, led by Professor Ramon Diaz-Bernardo of the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Spain,

8 Executive Development Programmes

HORIZONS

helped participants to understand how the classical hospitality marketing mix is being augmented with online marketing and related technologies. The following module, under the guidance of the SHTM’s Dr Wilco Chan, focused on the implementation of environmental management systems in hotels, and how ISO certification can be beneficial.

Changing pace in the fourth module, Professor Robert Bosselman of Iowa State University in the United States considered the implications of increased diversity in hospitality and tourism workplaces as the industry continues its rapid expansion around the world. The SHTM’s Mr Murray Mackenzie followed in the fifth module with a consideration of food and beverage marketing that works, leading participants through a series of case studies that showed them how direct marketing could help increase their market share.

The final module, held at Hong Kong Disneyland, covered the Disney approach to quality service. Mr Rob Morton of the Disney Institute helped participants gauge how a proven model of world-class customer service and a highly developed attention to detail could be tailored for their own businesses.

The Hong Kong PolyU Winter School is an annual event, and will be held again in January next year for those executives wanting to hone their critical perspectives and related skills in the pursuit of hospitality excellence.

Developing Expertise at Home and Abroad

In its wider spread of executive development programmes both at home and abroad in recent months the SHTM has worked with government officials, hotel association members and hospitality teachers.

9Executive Development Programmes


One of the School’s major engagements was with the South China University of Technology (SCUT), for which it provided teacher training in hospitality management. Five SCUT teachers attended courses on consumer behaviour, professional bar management, accounting and control, lodging management and food service operations. They also consulted with SHTM faculty members. On completion of the semester’s studies in September, the teachers were awarded Certificates of Achievement.

Another significant event in early September was a Visit Programme provided by the School for 45 members of the Asociacion Hotelera de Colombia (the Hotel Association of Colombia), which involved lectures covering China outbound tourism, tourism trends in the Asia-Pacific region and sustainable tourism.

The School also continued providing programmes for the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, with a Tourism Study Programme held in Hong Kong on 3-6 August attended by 8 participants from airways, government department and a university in the Middle Eastern country. In September, the SHTM’s Dr Simon Wong presented a one-day programme in Abu Dhabi on managing diversity in the hospitality workplace, attracting 41 participants.

Regardless of where they take place around the globe, the SHTM’s executive development programmes are providing world-leading expertise where it is needed – at the leading edge of industry education and practice.

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HORIZONS

Graduate Programmes

HORIZONS

Responsive ProgrammesDeliver for

Graduate Students

Always innovative in its educational offerings, the SHTM leads the world with its graduate programmes. The unique Doctor of Hotel and

Tourism Management (D.HTM) and the Master of Science (MSc) programme accepted new intakes this semester, attracting executives, educators and other students from around the globe through a mix of flexible delivery and tailored content.

Now in its fourth year, the D.HTM programme admitted a diverse array of candidates in September. The 24-member batch hails from Hong Kong, mainland China and places as far afield as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Uganda and the United States.

Other than offering the chance to study at a cutting-edge hospitality and tourism institution, one of the most appealing features of the D.HTM is its highly flexible format. Students can study part time, full time or switch between the two as their careers dictate.

Romain Chan, Group General Manager of the Miramar Hotel and Investment Company, commented recently that the programme’s flexibility alone was enabling him to reach his goal of a doctorate in hospitality management. With more than 25 years of experience in international hospitality, Mr Chan also voiced his appreciation for the focus on course work early in his studies.

“I like the taught subjects”, he said, “as they enhance our industry knowledge and help us prepare for our theses”. He went on to mention that he had “learnt to conduct research effectively and updated my knowledge in both the hotel and tourism sectors”.

The SHTM’s Associate Director (Academic Affairs), Professor Cathy Hsu, commented that the D.HTM programme helps otherwise busy

executives to look at the issues they face both strategically and systematically. Offering one specialist stream for senior industry practitioners and another for tourism body executives and educators,

the programme attracts students wanting to push their own limits, enhance their professionalism and add ever more value to their organisations.

Louis Shih, Managing Director of Camelot Hospitality Innovation Advisory, a company specialising in Greater China projects, said that the programme “helps enhance my personal growth and upgrade the quality of our services”. He described the D.HTM a “unique programme which provides comprehensive professional knowledge transfer in a systematic manner”.

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Graduate Programmes

A New Direction Beckons

At the Master’s level, the September intake for the 2010-2011 academic year included 53 students, with 22 arriving from mainland China and the rest from Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and other countries. With keen competition for places and a wealth of subjects on offer, the MSc/PgD in Hotel and Tourism Management programme is in very good shape.

Yet the SHTM is never satisfied with merely meeting expectations – its aim is always to exceed them. That is why the single programme will be phased out over the next two years, making way for an MSc/PgD in International Hospitality Management and an MSc/PgD in International Tourism and Convention Management.

When asked about the rationale for the change, Professor Hsu said that “it reflects the maturation of the profession and the industry”. With the rapid evolution of tourism around the world, and especially in Asia, “managers need more in-depth specialised skills and knowledge”.

The new programmes will be first offered in September this year, and will be tailored to provide the more specialised expertise that the tourism industry and its various sectors are increasingly demanding.

Professor Hsu offered an example of how the SHTM will deliver that specialisation. “Among the new elements” of the MSc in International Hospitality Management programme, she commented, “is a subject called design for hospitality, which will be co-delivered with PolyU’s School of Design”. That collaboration will “enhance the understanding of hotel managers in design so that they can work on hotel projects with architects, designers and construction firms more effectively”.

Such focused and out-of-the-ordinary programmes will ensure that graduates stand out in terms of both aptitude and skills in the career marketplace. They will


also go a long way toward keeping the SHTM at the cutting edge of hotel and tourism education worldwide.

The School will be accepting applications for admission to its graduate programmes in the 2011-2012 academic year until 31 March. Applications can be made through the PolyU Online Admission System.

School of Hotel and Tourism Management 1

Research HorizonsHightlights of Recent Research by the SHTM

Volume 5. Issue 1. February 2011

Holistic View Needed for Medical Tourismto Thrive

An holistic understanding of the interaction between demand and supply will be crucial for the sustained development of the medical tourism sector argue the SHTM’s Vincent Heung, Deniz Kucukusta and Haiyan Song. In a recently published article, the researchers point to the rapid growth of the sector and analyse its dynamics. They suggest that “medical tourism requires good coordination of the health-care and tourism industries” to ensure that medical tourist decision making is fully understood and demand fully tapped.

A Rapidly Growing SectorWith a “US$60 billion global business” growing annually at 20%, medical tourism is a significant element of the overall tourism industry. Defined as “a vacation that involves travelling across international borders to obtain a broad range of medical services”, it provides a “a medical service with a leisure component”. From the medical perspective, the procedures accessed mainly include cosmetic surgery and dental operations, but also involve complex forms of surgery such as heart operations and joint replacements.

Given that the leisure element also has to be enticing, it should be no surprise that developing countries are increasingly seen as viable medical tourist destinations, offering relatively cheap treatment for tourists from developed countries and appealing locales for post-treatment recuperation. The researchers note that Thailand, India, Malaysia and Singapore are particularly well known destinations. Malaysia, for instance

“currently plays host to 100,000 foreign medical tourists each year”.

Yet before they reach these destinations, explain the researchers, medical tourists need to make detailed travel arrangements, determine whether a particular service or doctor is available and plan for their recuperation services. This last consideration, in particular, opens up opportunities for the hospitality sector. The researchers give the example of a luxury hotel offering packages or specifically designed rooms for patients recovering from heart surgery over extended periods.

There is, of course, an element of safety that must be addressed in such situations, and the researchers are mindful of that and other potentially negative aspects of medical tourism. They note, most importantly, that the national health services and medical insurance companies in origin markets are often reluctant to compensate patients who have undergone procedures abroad. There is also often a lack of adequate follow-up care, and little recourse in cases of malpractice.

What Drives Demand? The central question here is how this burgeoning sector can be best appraised by the medical and tourism industries to guarantee its future growth while minimising its negative aspects. For the researchers, the answer lies in an holistic perspective that considers the interaction of demand and supply in the medical tourist’s decision-making process. They begin by identifying

Volume 5. Issue 1. Feb 2011 Research Horizons

School of Hotel and Tourism Management2

seven demand side factors that “affect tourists’ decisions in terms of destination and their medical options”.

These demand factors include the low cost of treatment in developing countries, the popularity of cosmetic surgery “which is rarely covered in insurance policies” and requires confidentiality, long domestic waiting lists in developed countries, the role of the Internet in disseminating information on services, cheap air travel and the education and licensing of many doctors from developing countries in developed countries. A final factor is the advent of outsourcing, whereby some procedures are relocated to give advantages in cost, access and quality.

With these factors attracting them to treatment in other countries, all medical tourists first choose an advertising and distribution channel such as a medical travel agency, word of mouth or the Internet. Yet the order in which the country, hospital and doctor are chosen differ widely, determined by such things as cost effectiveness (for cosmetic surgery) or the qualifications of the doctor (for an organ transplant). The researchers suggest that tourism authorities need to find out more about which demand factors are most important to what medical tourists – through such measures as surveys – to understand better how they make their decisions and what can be done to influence them.

What Affects Supply?On the supply side, the basic factors include the destination’s infrastructure, communications and the promotion of medical tourism by the government. The researchers argue that a supply side perspective involves focusing on “how an individual medical tourist’s requirements interact with the activities of the private, public and governmental sectors of medical tourism destinations during the selection procedure”.

The specific objective of supply side considerations should be to gather “valuable information on medical tourism institutions in terms of promotional activities and infrastructure and superstructure development”.

Once that information is gathered, the active government promotion of medical tourism is crucial. The researchers explain that the Thai government, for instance, realises the importance of coordinating various government bodies, drawing together the ministries of foreign affairs and health, the promotional efforts of the local tourism authority, and the building of the appropriate infrastructure. This, they write, is “one of the major reasons for Thailand’s success in the arena”.

Holistic Action Needed NowOther countries and regions, including Hong Kong, could certainly benefit from following the Thai lead on the supply side of medical tourism. Yet doing so without considering the demand factors and how they relate to the destination would not lead to any insights into how demand and supply considerations interact when medical tourists make their decisions. Writing of that interaction the researchers state plainly, “tourism organisations can no longer ignore it”.

Points to Note

■ Medical tourism is a US$60 billion global business.

■ The sector provides opportunities for expanding medical and hospitality services.

■ An understanding of both demand and supply factors is crucial to sustaining the sector’s growth.

■ Such an holistic view will reveal the decision-making process of the medical tourist and aid in destination marketing and planning.

Heung, Vincent C. S., Kucukusta, Deniz and Song, Haiyan (2010). “A Conceptual Model of Medical Tourism: Implications for Future Research”. International Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 27, pp. 236-251.

Research Horizons Volume 5. Issue 1. Feb 2011


Understanding of Student Perspective Needed for More Effective Internships

Internships are a fundamental part of hospitality and tourism education, even though their effectiveness is sometimes called into question. Practical work experience is crucial for aligning students with future careers, and the SHTM’s Dr Tony Tse has identified a way to make them more relevant to students, academic institutions and the hospitality and tourism industry itself. In a recently published research article Dr Tse reviews placement reports from SHTM students and shows that “knowing what students perceive to be important and valuable in their workplace experiences is vital to ensuring the success of internships”.

Benefits and Limitations of InternshipsAs part of an increasing trend towards compulsory work experience in academic curricula, internships offer hospitality and tourism students two distinct benefits. They can, writes Dr Tse, both develop practical work skills and “acquire supervisory and managerial skills by practice and observation”. Yet there is a widely held understanding that students do not always judge their placements very positively. Some are even dissuaded by their internship experiences from joining the hospitality industry after graduation.

Part of this problem lies in some interns considering themselves too highly educated to fill the positions they are given during placements. There is also something of a mismatch between the academic focus on “conceptual and analytical skills” and the industry interest in supervisory experience. To overcome this discrepancy, argues Dr Tse, “the industry and educators must work together to ensure that students have positive and enriching experiences during their internships”.

An In-Depth ExaminationHow, then, can we assess what students consider particularly valuable about internships? Dr Tse analysed

the placement reports of 279 SHTM students who had undertaken compulsory Work-integrated Education. The reports, written by students who had completed 10 or 48-week placements in Hong Kong, mainland China and abroad, describe experiences, related likes and dislikes, outlined what was learned and provided suggestions for receiving organisations.

Submitted by hotel management and tourism management students alike, Dr Tse argues that the reports offered rich, well thought out responses that could not have been obtained in interviews or through a questionnaire. He used the themes that emerged from the reports to identify nine main areas of concern, in order of importance: the student’s working relationship with colleagues, perception of personal growth, practical skills acquired, perceived contribution to the receiving organisation, relevance of the internship to study and future career, experience with leadership, methods of overcoming problems and difficulties encountered.

Student Perceptions of InternshipsIt is particularly worth focusing on the two most important themes identified because they encapsulate the major elements of an intern’s experience – working effectively with others and developing skills that are not specific to the job at hand.

In the first instance, Dr Tse notes that “students attach great importance to their working relationships with colleagues, probably because those relationships are perceived as the work experience itself”. It should be apparent, then, that staff members who work with interns could very much enhance the internship experience by being friendly, showing their care, communicating clearly, accepting that interns make mistakes and setting an example by working diligently themselves.



Dr Tse makes the often overlooked point that when interns like their colleagues and those colleagues are willing to coach, the relationship becomes strong. The bond expands the scope of that interns can learn and ultimately improves their overall perception of the organisation. The added benefit is that this process also shows the industry in a more positive light than that in which it is sometime seen by interns.

Another benefit is that interns who are happier in their placements will inevitably have more self-confidence, which will enhance their willingness to learn. From this perspective, Dr Tse reports that the students saw personal growth – as evidenced by developing generic skills such as the ability to better communicate, language skills (especially in overseas placements) and time management – as “the major benefit of placement”. In other words, the interns realised that they could acquire skills in their placements that would stand them in good stead in any workplace. The internship essentially becomes a valuable career starting point.

Dr Tse suggests that the academic institutions should reinforce the potential for personal growth before and after placements to ensure that students see the experience from a career perspective. He also notes that receiving organisations should help interns identify the skills they see as most important and valuable for their future careers to make the value of their internships more explicit as they progress.

From a broader perspective, two of the remaining themes identified are worth noting in a little more detail. Dr Tse mentions that student perceptions of whether they contribute to their receiving organisations are significant because they give interns a sense of importance in what they do. Although any contributions are likely to be small, receiving organisations should acknowledge them and give interns “the opportunity to make tangible contributions.”

Experience with leadership is also a less tangible element of internships, although the students indicated they had “experienced a wide range of leadership traits”. To build

Points to Note

■ Internships are crucial to hospitality and tourism education.

■ Yet student interns do not always benefit from their placements.

■ A greater focus on the student perspective is needed to enhance the effectiveness of internships.

■ More academic-industry collaboration will ensure higher quality placement experiences.

Tse, Tony S. M. (2010). “What do Hospitality Students Find Important about Internships?” Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism, Vol. 10, pp. 251-264.

on this and make it a stronger element of the internship experience, Dr Tse suggests that interns could be specifically “guided to appreciate how leadership works in an organisation”.

Academic and Industry Collaboration NeededGiven “the alarming situation” of internships actually discouraging some students from joining the industry, there is a solution at hand. Equipped with the nine themes Dr Tse identifies, both academic institutions and receiving organisations can reconsider their roles in the placement process. Academic institutions should better prepare students for their internships, particularly by focusing their expectations and helping them to better understand the career-long benefits of placements. The receiving organisations, in turn, could reorient the ways in which they handle interns to make learning outcomes more tangible.

The ultimate goal should be enhanced academic-industry collaboration to provide higher quality internships that ensure a motivated, skilful and aspirational future management workforce.



Variable Impact of Environmental Management Systems on Hotel Employees

Contrary to the widely held belief that environmental management systems (EMSs) uniformly enhance staff satisfaction and morale, the SHTM’s Eric Chan and a co-author report in a recent research article that hotel employees experience both positive and negative impacts. The researchers use the case study of a flagship hotel in Hong Kong to show that staff reactions to the implementation of an EMS can depend on the extent to which lower-level employees are involved in the process. Their findings, they note, will “help the industry to better understand the impact of EMS implementation on internal stakeholders”. Environmental Management Systems ExplainedAn EMS, write the researchers, is “one of the most effective tools to achieve sustainable development”. They point to two major standards – the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 14001 and the Council of European Communities’ Eco-Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS). Meeting the requirements of these standards show that a firm complies with relevant environmental legislation, has a structure in place to implement environmental programmes, continuously improves its environmental performance and improves the environmental awareness and efficiency of its employees.

Employee engagement, then, should be an integral part of implementing an EMS. Against the presumption that EMSs inevitably improve employee morale, which certainly can be the case, there is also the “additional workload, training, documentation and auditing related to a formal EMS or EMS certification” that have “significant impacts on individual staff members”. This is particularly relevant to hotels, in which it can be difficult for employees to balance the provision of high-quality service with the required environmental performance.

An EMS in a Leading HotelTo judge the sorts of impacts that employees face in the implementation of an EMS the researchers studied a five-star hotel in Hong Kong. With a main target of business travellers, the hotel has 770 employees. It has adopted the ISO 14001 standard for over 10 years, and “its leadership in environmental protection is recognised in the local hotel industry”.

The researchers interviewed five executive, seven supervisory and 15 general level staff to obtain their views of the implementation and operation of the hotel’s EMS. The interviews generated background and career information on the interviewees, their views on environmental protection and environmental management in the hotel industry, the rationale behind the hotel’s EMS and how it had been implemented. The researchers also specifically asked how the EMS had affected the interviewees’ jobs.

Implementation and OutcomesAt the highest level in the hotel, there was real concern for the environment, and for the market demand that the environment be protected. Yet the researchers found that the supervisory level employees were more likely to think that the EMS was designed to attract more green travellers, and the general employees pointed to cost and resource saving and the desire for a better reputation. The company’s motivation for implementing the EMS “was not clearly communicated to its employees”, according to the researchers.

This lack of alignment could, perhaps, be seen as a result of the top-down approach taken to planning the EMS. The green committee in charge of planning was composed entirely of senior executives and department heads. The researchers note that the executives “benefited a great deal from the process” in terms of their own job



satisfaction and could share “the EMS experience of their hotel with other companies”, which “afforded them status and privilege and induced a sense of prestige.”

The researchers suggest that this sort of situation should be avoided, with green committees involving employees of all levels. Yet they also make a very important point – Chinese employees expect to be shown the lead by senior management. Although the top-down communication was not always clear in this case, there was certainly an improvement in what the researchers call “employee-employer” cohesiveness following the implementation. One duty engineer commented that “about 70% of his colleagues had developed a stronger team spirit because of their intensive involvement with their superiors and each other in implementing the EMS”.

Nevertheless, the general-level employees were not always clear about EMS details, and the researchers suggest that more in-depth training is needed in such situations. Perhaps low levels of training were why more than half of the interviewees claimed that the hotel had failed to establish a consistent environmental policy, citing such examples as televisions being left on in unoccupied guestrooms and the provision of large bottles of distilled water. These inconsistences, write the researchers, “led some employees to question the real motives of behind EMS adaption”.

Impact on EmployeesDespite these concerns, most of the interviewees supported the hotel. Over half “were proud of their company’s achievement”, and around a third said that the workplace was now “cleaner and more comfortable”. Around two thirds stated that they had heavier workloads but did not mind, which is a good indication that the complexities of an EMS can be managed effectively on the frontline.

Indeed, all employees had freedom to carry out environmental practices. For instance, the researchers note that “the fryer in the Chinese restaurant, the tailor and a room attendant all indicated that they could make decisions at their own level”. With enhanced

environmental awareness, “some of the informants believed that the learnt knowledge and experience would benefit their future careers”. This is certainly something of which the industry should be aware, because Hong Kong employees rank career development as their most important motivation.

Meaningful Goals Key to Employee Acceptance Given both positive and negative perceptions elicited from the interviewees, the researchers suggest that clearly implemented environmental policies are crucial for employee acceptance. Indeed, they warn that in this case, employee commitment “was negatively affected if the adoption of the system by the company was perceived to be a means to save costs, improve the company image and attract green customers”. Hence, they conclude, “meaningful organisational goals result in a more harmonious working environment in EMS implementation”.

Points to Note

■ EMSs do not uniformly enhance hotel staff satisfaction and morale.

■ In contrast to executives, supervisory and general employees face mixed impacts from EMS implementation.

■ Nevertheless, most employees are positive about EMS implementation.

■ Clear organisational goals are needed for employee acceptance.

Chan, Eric S. W. and Hawkins, Rebecca (2010). “Attitude towards EMSs in an International Hotel: An Exploratory Case Study”. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 29, pp. 641-651.



Shareholder Rights Weak inUS Hospitality Industry

Hospitality firms in the United States have relatively low levels of shareholder rights according to the SHTM’s Dr Basak Denizci Guillet in a research article published with a co-author recently. The researchers consider the links between corporate governance and measures of firm performance across three industry segments – hotels, restaurants and casinos – offering the interesting observation that firms weak in shareholder rights tend to perform well. While stressing that their findings establish no specific relationships between firm characteristics and shareholder rights, the researchers do provide an important overview of the extent to which corporate governance policies are influencing the industry.

Corporate GovernanceA feature of the global economy in recent years has been the rise in concern about corporate governance, especially from shareholders seeking to protect their investments. The researchers define corporate governance as the “processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions” that direct and control companies. The key players in this series of interactions are “shareholders, the board of directors and executive management”. The problem is, however, that while shareholders have voting rights at the annual general meeting, and in some cases are represented on the board, executive management, and to a lesser extent the board of directors, has day-to-day control over the firm’s direction.

This scenario gives rise to agency problems, observe the researchers. Agency relationships, they note, occur when there is “goal incongruence” between managers and shareholders. As shareholder agents, managers are expected to make decisions that will ultimately benefit the value that shareholders gain from a firm, but this is not always the case. Hence, corporate governance is used to ensure that managers maintain the correct focus.

Yet any causal relationship between corporate governance and firm performance has yet to be established. This is compounded by the diversity of corporate governance strategies across industries. In the hospitality industry, note the researchers, property ownership is common and the separation of that ownership from management can create “a potential conflict of interest”. Management, they write, tends to focus on long-term success and customer relationships, whereas owners tend to focus on short-term return.

Other factors that affect corporate governance in the hospitality industry, according to the researchers, include the high levels of capital intensity and low levels of inventory, the high ratio of day-to-day decisions to long-term decisions and sensitivity to changes in the economy.

The researchers also point out that within the industry itself, hotels, restaurants and casinos are sufficiently different in their form and function. Hotel firms are largely involved in ‘assembly operations’ in which rooms are serviced, with the processing of materials, such as the laundering of linen, performed by suppliers. Restaurants can involve assembly operations, such as the preparation of meals on site, but can extend “to a full blown production facility in which meals are process from raw ingredients”. Hotels can, of course, include restaurants, and casinos usually have both hotels and restaurants attached. Casinos are also differentiated, note the researchers, by the compensation schemes for their executives, with pay rates far higher than those enjoyed by executives in hotel and restaurant companies. All of these factors, they write, can lead to different types and extents of corporate governance.



Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in the United StatesGiven this variety of conditions, the researchers set out to investigate the extent to which investors in hospitality companies “are protected from misconduct by executive management or from dangers from controlling shareholders that could result in poor firm performance”, and how the different sorts of companies might differ in their responses to such situations. Drawing on data from firm performance and risk measurement databases, the researchers observed the links between indicators of corporate governance and firm performance in 179 hospitality firms in the United States from 1990 to 2006.

The measures of corporate governance covered five broad categories, including the existence of provisions “devised to set back hostile bidders”, voting provisions related to shareholder rights in elections and charter or by-law amendments, provisions that protect executive management from job-related liability, other corporate governance provisions not related to voting or protection, and compliance with related state laws.

In terms of firm performance, the researchers considered market value, return on assets, return on equity, profit margin, capital expenditure per asset, the ratio of the market value and replacement value of assets (otherwise known as Tobin’s q) and debt levels. Market value, capital expenditure per asset and debt levels were also measures that they thought might influence corporate governance.

Weak Shareholder Rights The researchers find, overall, that the hospitality firms had “relatively weak shareholder rights”. This is particularly true of larger firms with higher returns on equity and debt levels, and lower capital expenditure per asset. However, restaurant firms with stronger shareholder rights had significantly lower levels of debt than hotels and casinos. The researchers also place their findings in context of the relatively high level of protection afforded to hospitality executives from hostile takeovers and the

Points to Note

■ Corporate governance is increasing in importance around the world.

■ Yet little is known about the link between corporate governance and firm performance.

■ In the US hospitality industry, shareholder rights are relatively weak, but that might not affect performance.

■ Nevertheless, US hotel firms tend to have high levels of corporate governance compared to their industry counterparts.

Denizci Guillet, Basak and Mattila, Ann S. (2010). “A Descriptive Examination of Corporate Governance in the Hospitality Industry”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 29, pp. 677-684.

“strong limitations on shareholders’ ability to replace managers”.

Another important consideration is that the hotel firms rated highly in the corporate governance measures, except in 1995, leading the restaurant and casino firms. This is tempered somewhat by fluctuations in the commitment of hotel firms, along with casinos firms, during the study period, although restaurant firms managed to keep their corporate governance efforts at a steady level throughout.

Further Investigation NeededGiven that they conducted a ‘descriptive’ study, the researchers are quick to point out that their findings “do not indicate causality”. Nevertheless, they do shed light on light on the extent to which corporate governance shapes the hospitality industry in the United States. With the increasing attention being paid to shareholder rights – which are not particularly strong in the industry – their relationship to firm performance most definitely needs to be investigated. This effort, write the researchers, should just be the start.



Functionality Critical for Online Travel Agencies

Website functionality is the key to online travel agencies attracting and retaining customers note the SHTM’s Dr Nelson Tsang, Professor Rob Law and a co-author is a recently published research article. The researchers investigate the “underlying dimensions used by online customers to evaluate the e-service quality of online travel agencies” and identify six important factors that ensure customer satisfaction and heighten repurchase intention. Their findings, they note, have important implications for online agencies amid “technological changes and fierce competition within the tourism industry”.

E-service Quality of Online Travel AgenciesWith the increasing popularity of using the Internet to search for information and visualise travel products and services, travel agencies have developed websites to broaden the range of customers they can attract. This market is potentially huge, with online expenditure on travel expected to reach US$153 billion per year in 2013. The key to capturing a share of that market, write the researchers, is to focus on improvements in e-service quality.

Defining e-service quality as a customer judgement of the “excellence and superior quality of e-service offerings”, the researchers note that website visitors are likely to evaluate quality based on “the overall process and outcome” rather than any single feature. They are looking for ways to realise the potential benefits of the Internet, such as improved choice, ease of transactions and 24-hour operation.

Yet not all online agencies are conscientious about maintaining the appeal of their sites. What happens then, when e-service quality is lacking? As the researchers point out, “no amount of advertising or low prices can make up for service quality issues if they become too prevalent”. They suggest that online travel agencies need to “pay attention to customer’s details, investigate

what existing and potential customers’ expectations for service quality are, understand their needs, and design an online service system that meets those needs and expectations”.

A Hong Kong PerspectiveWith the aim of providing a customer perspective on e-service quality in Hong Kong, the researchers conducted a focus group interview with seven online customers aged between 20 and 25. This range matched the statistical profile of more than 90% of Internet users in Hong Kong. The interview identified eight broad dimensions of e-service quality: ease of use, information/content, fulfilment, responsiveness, security and privacy, visual appeal, personalisation, and community.

The researchers then incorporated those dimensions into a pilot-tested questionnaire with which they conducted a web-based survey. The first section of the questionnaire collected general information and the second measured actual perceptions of e-service quality. The third section examined the “overall level of satisfaction with the online travel agency” and the fourth collected the respondents’ socio-demographic information

Of those who responded, slightly more than half were male, with a preponderance aged between 26-35. Most of the respondents had received tertiary education, and a great majority of them had been using the Internet for 6 years or more.

The Quality Dimensions that Matter From the original eight broad dimensions the researchers identified six more specific factors that influence customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. In terms of satisfaction, the respondents identified website functionality, information content and quality, and safety and security as the most significant influences. Repurchase intention was most affected by website



Points to Note

■ The Internet is becoming an increasingly important source of travel agency business.

■ The e-service quality of online travel agency websites is crucial to customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.

■ Customers find website functionality and information quality and content the most important when judging e-service quality.

■ Overall, e-service quality is an avenue of online travel agency differentiation.

Tsang, Nelson Kee Fu, Lai, Michael T. H. and Law, Rob (2010). “Measuring E-Service Quality for Online Travel Agencies”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 27, pp. 306-323.

functionality, information content and quality, and safety and security.

As an initial observation, it seems that the appearance of a travel agency website is not likely to influence potential customers. Yet the researchers suggest that this is likely to be a relative assessment – “aesthetics act as a hygiene factor, affecting customer satisfaction only when the visual appearance of a website is very poor”. The respondents also rated responsiveness and fulfilment quite low, with the researchers reasoning that “online travel agencies in Hong Kong rarely fail to fulfil customer expectations”.

In contrast, the respondents rated website functionality as the most significant of their considerations when assessing the e-service quality of travel agency websites. This factor includes useful search functions, the ability to compare prices and easy to find information – features that determine the user-friendliness of a site. To strengthen their market shares, agencies should work to minimise the technical difficulties involved in using their sites, suggest the researchers, and provide “innovative tools to support customers”.

Information quality and content were the second most important elements of e-service quality according to the respondents. This dimension is fundamental to buying because difficulties in finding useful information inevitably dissuade potential customers from making purchases. Its relatively high ranking, note the researchers, validates the efforts “made by online travel agencies to integrate more content and information into their websites”.

The respondents rated safety and security the third most important dimension, indicating the significance of “how a website proves its trustworthiness”. This has been a particular concern in Hong Kong, especially in relation to credit-card use, but the researchers write “growing numbers of customers in Hong Kong are accustomed to online transactions”. Yet agencies, they caution, still need to adopt “strict security policies”, and customers remain concerned about “the likelihood that online

stores will sell their information to other organisation without their acknowledgement or permission”.

The significance of the final important dimension of e-service quality, customer relationship, might seem self-evident – better customer relations usually create satisfied customers. Yet the ways in which customer relations can be improved might not be so obvious. The researchers suggest that travel agency websites should use live chat services for instant feedback, travel blogs and proximity searches.

Differentiating in the Competitive MarketThe overall aim should always be to enhance agency competitiveness and customer awareness of what the agency has to offer. In that sense, improvements in e-service quality are avenues of differentiation in an increasingly aggressive market that allows potential customers a wide range of choice. When online travel agencies pay attention to the elements that work to shape customer satisfaction and repurchase intention the ultimate beneficiary is, of course, the bottom line.



Familiarity Breeds Moderation in Customer Judgements of Service Failure in Airline Alliances

Customers are more willing to rate less well-known carriers harshly after service failures in airline alliances note the SHTM’s Dr Karin Weber and a co-author in a research article published recently. Drawing on the findings of a survey of Australian frequent flyers, the researchers show that airlines in strategic alliances with which customers are more familiar are treated less harshly. There is even a “halo effect”, whereby customers who identify strongly with the home carrier transfer their moderate judgements to the alliance. This the researchers attribute to social identity, or the extension of the customer’s sense of self to alignment with a particular organisation.

Service Failure and Customer ReactionsGiven the intangible nature and inherent variability of tourism services, there are understandably occasions on which customer expectations are not met. As the researchers explain, the success of attempts to recover from service failures depends on customer attitudes towards the firms concerned. In one-firm settings, those attitudes can be controlled, to a degree, by the ways in which firms usually provide their services and build customer relations. In multiple firm settings, the outcomes are far less certain.

“If service providers jointly offer a service to customers and a service failure occurs”, ask the researchers, “to which provider does the customer attribute the service failure?” They suggest the extent that the customer identifies with one of the firms could determine the answer, and consider how this might play out in an airline alliance when failure by one carrier affects a partner carrier within the same alliance.

Of primary concern in such settings are the locus, or perceived origin, of the service failure and the extent of a customer’s identification with one or another of the

firms. The locus of service failure, note the researchers, can be either internal (the customer) or external (the service firm or its environment). The more that customers consider the locus of failure to be external, the more likely they are to be dissatisfied, complain and believe they are owed an apology, a refund or both.

Organisational identification, a specific form of social identification, has become increasingly common as firms have stretched their influence around the world. The researchers note that given their high standards of operation, innovation and thus reputation, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are likely to be targets of that identification from frequent flyers. With this connection in mind they investigated how experienced flyers in one Asia-Pacific market, Australia, perceive service failure in an airline alliance.

Reactions to Service Failure in AustraliaThe researchers surveyed the reactions of more than 300 Australian frequent flyers to four service-failure scenarios through a web-based questionnaire. The majority of their respondents were male, consistent with the wider population of regular air travellers, had a preferred home carrier and were enrolled in at least one frequent flyer programme. About a quarter were 46-55 years old.

To establish a sense of social identity, the respondents first read a short script designed to evoke either a strong or weak identification with the home carrier. They then read a second script in which either the partner or home carrier caused a service failure. The particular failure depicted – the breakdown of a computer system run by one of the airlines that caused flight delays and the cancellation of a previously confirmed flight – was deemed “believable and easily understood” through extensive pre-testing.



Importance of Familiarity and Social Identification The researchers found that locus of service failure distinctly influenced customer reactions to the situation. When the partner airline caused the problem the respondents were more critical of it and less likely to consider using it again than they were of the home carrier and the alliance. In contrast, when the home carrier caused the problem the respondents were still critical, but they were less moved to abandon the airline and the alliance. To help mitigate the first scenario, the researchers suggest that airlines should take care to solicit feedback from their customers about their experiences on partner airlines “with the express purpose of offering remedial action in case of service problems”.

An interesting difference between reactions to home and partner airlines is that home carriers with which customers have developed an affiliation tended to be assessed by customers in approximately the same way regardless of whether or not they created the problem. Less familiar partner airlines were judged differently in the two situations, with only the effective recovery from a problem caused by the home carrier brining the overall reaction to the partner close to the reaction to the home carrier.

In terms of social identification, the respondents who more strongly identified with the home carrier were more satisfied with it regardless of whether it caused the service failure, and would use it again. Yet they were not as forgiving of the alliance, and were more critical of the partner airline. When identification with the home carrier was weak, the respondents were still more critical of the partner but not of the alliance, in a “moderate halo effect”.

The implication of these findings is that goodwill does not transfer between airlines when the customer has a strong sense of social identification with the home carrier. Airlines should thus be concerned about the service standards of their partners, suggest the researchers, at the most basic level through “offering solutions to a

customer who has communicated a service failure event at one of the partner airlines”.

Customer Appreciation CrucialOverall, airline alliances need to take more unified action in dealing with service failures amongst their members. The researchers suggest the establishment of alliance customer service centres to deal with such problems, rather than “leaving customers alone” in seeking resolution. Yet even if the status quo is maintained, each airline should ensure in its efforts at recovery that it clearly appreciates the customer’s use of its service.

Points to Note

■ Customer reactions to service failures are difficult to predict in airline strategic alliances.

■ The locus of failure and social identification with a particular carrier are likely to be significant.

■ Home carriers tend to be judged less critically, regardless of which airline caused the failure.

■ Alliances and their members should maintain a customer focus when dealing with service failures.

Weber, Karin and Sparks, Beverley (2010). “Service Failure and Recovery in a Strategic Airline Alliance Context: Interplay of Locus of Service Failure and Social Identity”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 547-564.

13


Mainland Programmes

Dinner gatherings in Shenzhen and Hangzhou during October and November highlighted the enthusiasm of SHTM students and alumni in the mainland. Attended by PolyU dignitaries and SHTM

representatives, the two events were very successful.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel proved to be an ideal setting on 9 October when over 170 alumni, students and guests gathered in Shenzhen for the Dinner Gathering for PolyU Alumni and Students in the Pearl River Delta. Dignitaries at the event included Professor Timothy Tong, PolyU President, Professor Philip Chan, Deputy President and Provost, and Professor Judy Tsui, Vice President (International and Executive Education).

With more than 40 of the School’s mainland students and alumni participating, Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Director, and Professor Cathy Hsu, Associate Director, were also in attendance.

The warm and friendly evening featured a cocktail reception, the dinner and a fun-filled lucky draw. Feedback from the participants was very positive, and their happiness made the occasion especially memorable.

A month later the School’s attention turned to Hangzhou for a Graduation

Dinner held on 4 November. Organised by the graduating class of 2010 to thank their lecturers and share their academic achievements with friends and relatives, the event was appreciated by all. Professors Chon and Hsu again represented the SHTM, enjoying the atmosphere and wishing all graduates well as they proceeded to the next stage of their careers.

The SHTM is very proud of its graduates and students in the mainland, and looks forward to organising and attending more events in the near future.

Enthusiasm on Display in Shenzhen and Hangzhou

Dinner Gatherings

Professor Kaye Chon (first row, fourth from left) and Professor Cathy Hsu (first row, fourth from right) attending the dinner gathering in Hangzhou

Professor Kaye Chon (second from right) and Dr Alan Wong (first on left) with Hangzhou graduates

Professor Timothy Tong (front row, middle), Professor Philip Chan (front row, third from right), Professor Kaye Chon (front row, second from right) and Professor Judy Tsui (front row, third from left) with PolyU staff at the dinner gathering in Shenzhen

14

HORIZONS

In Brief

President’s Awards for Excellent Performance

14 SHTM News

SHTM faculty members took top honours at the 2009/2010 President’s Awards for Excellent Performance/Achievement, collecting three of the four awards that went to individuals. Receiving their awards at a presentation ceremony on 26 November were Dr Andrew Chan, Dr Catherine Cheung and Dr Tony Tse. Dr Chan received the Excellence in Teaching award, Dr Cheung the Excellence in Research and Scholarly Activities award, and Dr Tse the Excellence in Services award.

One of the most celebrated events at PolyU, the President’s Awards scheme pays tribute to academic and non-academic staff for their exemplary performance in teaching, research and scholarly activities, services, and overall contributions.

SHTM Professor Appointed to ACTA

The SHTM is proud to announce the appointment of SHTM Associate Director, Professor Cathy Hsu, as a new member of the Advisory Committee on

Travel Agents (ACTA). Welcoming Professor Hsu to the well-respected advisory body, a government spokesperson praised the Committee’s work in enhancing the ‘service quality of the travel trade for the benefit of the travelling public and inbound visitors’.

The only new member to be appointed this year, Professor Hsu will serve an initial term of two years. The ACTA is a statutory body that advises the government on matters related to the regulation of the travel agent trade and those affecting the interests of both the trade and consumers.

International Visiting Scholar Grant

Dr Karin Weber has received an international visiting scholar grant from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia that will allow her to carry out research for a month during the year. Dr Weber will continue with an ongoing collaborative research project on service failure and recovery in various settings.

Korean Postgraduates and Alumni Gather in Seoul

The first SHTM Seoul Postgraduate Student and Alumni Gathering was held in the South Korean capital on 25 November 2010. Eight people attended the lively gathering, including SHTM Director, Professor Kaye Chon.

15


SHTM News

Best Paper Award

More evidence of the SHTM’s strong research record comes with the announcement that Mr Eddy Kurobuza Tukamushaba, a research student in the PhD in Hotel and Tourism Management programme, has won this year’s Academy of Management International Management Division Best Paper Award in the Organisational Behaviour/Human Resource Management/Organisation Theory category.

Mr Tukamushaba and his co-author’s winning paper is entitled “Human Factor, Organizational Justice and Organizational Effectiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empirical Analysis from Ghana and Uganda”.

Undergraduate Excellence

Ms Kiki Leung Wing-ki, a fourth year BSc(Hons) in Hotel Management student, has been honoured with selection as one of only six Young Talents who will represent their universities at the World Tourism Forum in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 13-15 April. Ms Leung won selection based on her research paper “Sustainable Development in China’s MICE Industry Taking Hong Kong and Shanghai as Case Studies”. She will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with managers from all over the world at the Forum, and engage with the theme of ‘Sustainability in Tourism’.

Scholarship Rewards

Three final-year SHTM students have been selected as members of Young SKAL 2010. Ms Kiki Leung Wing-ki, Ms Carol Lee Cheuk-yiu and Ms Winnie To Wing-ki, BSc(Hons) in Tourism Management students, were accepted as members on 27 October last year, when they also received Rudy Choy Educational Fund Scholarships.

The Young SKAL scheme was established by SKAL International in 1999 to create

greater awareness of the international professional tourism organisation amongst young people studying or training for tourism-related careers.

Christmas Dinner Marks Shift from Old to New

A gourmet dinner hosted by Dr Jack Kivela and Raymond Kwong’s Gastronomy and Olfactory Studies students on 7 December was the final class in the Millennium Training Restaurant. Students’ friends, parents, other relatives and alumni enjoyed Christmas favourites such as roast suckling pig, glazed baked ham on the bone, roast sirloin of beef and Christmas pudding with brandy butter.

The School is looking forward to seeing everyone in the new year at Bistro 1979, our new training restaurant for wonderful food, superior service and delightful company.

Secondary Students Taste SHTM Life

The SHTM greeted 160 secondary school students from Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long on 22

January as part of the PolyU Serving the Community Day organised by the Student Affairs Office. Led by SHTM tutors Mrs Lily Kwong and Ms Bella Chan, the

students were divided into groups and attended cookie-making workshops and table-manner classes in the labs of the SHTM’s new premises.

16

HORIZONS

SHTM News

Dr Wu Chenguang, Doris transferred from being a Research Associate to being a Postdoctoral Fellow on 13 December 2010.

Dr Li Wenli, Ann joined the SHTM as a Research Associate on 29 December 2010.

Ms Clare Fung and Ms Doris Lo, who were

previously Tutors, were promoted to Instructors with effect from 1 January 2011.

Mr Chan Chi-hang, Xavier, who graduated with an MSc in Hotel and Tourism

Management from the SHTM in 2009, joined the School as a Tutor on 4 January 2011. He has worked in the hospitality, tourism and education sectors and specialises in the areas of human resources, customer service, and training in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Ms Chan Pui-ching, Patricia joined the SHTM as an Instructor on 10 January 2011.

Professor Habil Ruhi Yaman joined the SHTM as a Visiting Professor in January 2011. Professor Yaman holds a PhD from Victoria University in Australia, where he

also taught until 2006, and has academic qualifications from La Trobe University and the University of

Melbourne. He is also a Certified Hotel Administrator, and was previously an Invited Professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies in Macao and the International University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

Dr Seongseop Kim joined the School as a Visiting Associate Professor in January 2011. Dr Kim received his MSc and PhD in Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences from Texas A&M University in the United States. He is an Associate Professor at the College of Hospitality and Tourism at Sejong University in South Korea.

Staff Update

17


On 14 September 2010, the first ‘official’ framework for social responsibility was approved for publication as an ISO International Standard. ISO 26000, which gives organisations guidance on

implementing social responsibility programmes, will prove to be a tipping point in the worldwide implementation of social responsibility practices.

An understanding of and emphasis on social responsibility is particularly relevant to the hotel industry. Hotel groups have multiple stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers and government. They affect the environment through water usage, energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and the health and safety of the communities in which they operate.

As reporting to investors and stakeholders on social responsibility initiatives is now expected, and often a legal obligation, the guidance that ISO 26000 provides will become

increasingly crucial. For hotel groups that already have social responsibility programmes in place, the standard offers a definitive guide for benchmarking and gap analysis. For other hotel groups, and individual hotels, it offers an excellent foundation on which to design and implement such a programme.

ISO 26000 covers organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development. It then links those ‘subjects’ to the principles of accountability, transparency, ethical behaviour, and respect for stakeholder interests, the rule of law, international norms of behaviour and human rights.

Clearly, oversight in these areas should rest with senior management and not the public relations department. Best practice hotel companies have a dedicated corporate senior management position assigned, reporting directly to the CEO.

How, then, can a hotel benefit from its social responsibility programme? In brief, it can achieve savings associated with increased productivity and resource efficiency, less energy and water consumption, and decreased waste. Social responsibility also enhances employee loyalty, involvement and morale, and can prevent or reduce potential conflicts with guests.

ISO 26000 is meant to provide guidance, and is not a specification document intended for third party certification like ISO 9001. The ISO has emphasised that it will be vigilant in seeing that this is respected. The idea is not to sell certification, but to embrace the concept.

Social Responsibility and the Hotel Industry:

An Overview of ISO 26000

This article was written by Chris Knop on behalf of Avasara, a hotel and hospitality consultancy based in Hong Kong and Macau. Mr Knop is Vice Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and executive committee member for Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Hong Kong Call Centre Association.

About the Author...

17


Industry Talk

HORIZONS

18 Industry Attachment

A Focus on Business Events in Oman

Industry attachments are a key way in which SHTM faculty members stay in touch with the changing needs of the tourism industry and offer research-based advice to practitioners. Dr Karin Weber, one of the School’s MICE specialists, reports on her recent attachment in Oman, explaining

the significance of tourism to the country and the project for which she gave advice.

The Sultanate of Oman, located on the Arabian Peninsula, is blessed with stunning natural scenery, unique cultural sites and hospitable people who have welcomed travellers along the ancient trade routes like the frankincense trail for centuries. This small, politically stable country of 2.5 million inhabitants has taken a more measured approach to tourism development than its close neighbour Dubai.

Intent on protecting its natural resources and cultural heritage, Oman has carefully increased the number of tourist arrivals over the past decade. Its unique sights and annual events like the Khareef Festival have attracted tourists not only from the neighbouring Gulf States but also from Europe, with Germany and France being key markets.

OMRAN, the country’s leading tourism-related investment and management company is currently developing numerous tourism projects around the country to further facilitate the growth of this vital industry. Oman is now also turning to the development of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, in an effort to diversify its traditionally oil-based economy.

As part of SHTM’s faculty industry attachment programme, I worked with OMRAN in November 2010 on the new Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) project. In particular, I advised on the marketing of both Oman as a MICE destination and the OCEC.

Located in Oman’s capital Muscat and scheduled for completion in 2013, the OCEC project involves the creation of a 6,000 seat Convention Centre, together with a 30,000 square metre Exhibition/Multi User Sports Centre suitable for major sports events, and 20 meeting rooms with a range of seating capacities. In the immediate vicinity of the OCEC, hotels and serviced apartments will be built, in addition to a major regional retail facility and a business park.

The completion of the OCEC project will provide a sound foundation for the further development of the MICE sector in Oman.

Mr Wael Al Lawati, CEO of OMRAN (left) and Dr Karin Weber


Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Hotel and Catering Management

CHOI Keng Wa

FAN Tsz Ki

LEUNG Ka Yu

LI Ho Yin Winston

PO Sze Lok

WONG Sau Ting

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Hotel Management

CHAN Mei Ting

CHAN Nga Ling

CHAN Yee Ting

CHEN Qian

CHOW Ka Ho

FUNG Kin Ho

HO On Yi

HU Kewei

LIU Yue

MAN Emily

QI Ling

SZE Pak Chin Paris

WANG Cong

WANG Lu

WONG Anson Zong Yiu

WONG King Fung

WONG Leong Leong

WONG Tsz Wai

WU Wenbo

YANG Shan

19Student Achievement Awards

Rewarding students for their outstanding performance is a cornerstone of the SHTM’s mission to nurture future leaders of the hospitality and tourism industry. On 9 November last year, 53 students students received Academic

Achievement Awards for maintaining GPAs of 3.7 or above during semesters two and three 2009/10. Presented by SHTM Director, Professor Kaye Chon, during an Elite of the Elite ceremony at the Che-Woo Lui Hotel and Tourism Resource Centre, the well-deserved awards went to the following students.

Achievementtudent

ewarded

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Tourism Management

CHAN Kwan Mei

CHEN Miao

CHIU Ying Ying

HAN Qi

HAN Xiao

IP Wai Shan

KWOK Ka Yan

LEI Elkie

TAN Xiao

YAU Cheuk Hei Annette

YU Sai Ho

Higher Diploma in Hotel Management

CHUI Chi Pui

HANG Chun Cheung Ronald

HO Ho Chi

HUNG Man Wai Vivian

IP Hoi Ching

KWAN Hoi Yan

LAU Cheung Hoi

LAW Ka Man Carmen

MAK Pak Hong

SZE Lok Yee

TANG Long Ying

TANG Tsz Man

TO Mei Yuk

YEN Mei Ting

Higher Diploma in Tourism Management

MAK Hoi Kei

WONG Hiu Mei

20

HORIZONS

Small Features, Big Impression in Macau

When we arrived at the Grand Hyatt Macau, the staff gave us a friendly welcome. Throughout the tour they were always smiling, showing that the ‘Hyatt Touch’ extends to every level of the organisation.

Little touches of excellence were evident throughout the hotel. In the Salão do Teatro pillarless ballroom, the traditional Chinese crystal chandeliers are absent, giving the room a spacious, modern outlook. Natural lighting is used extensively in other parts of the hotel, and the free Wi-Fi service both provides free Internet access and promotes coming events on the login page.

Product differentiation through small touches goes a long way to honing a venue’s competitive edge. At the Grand Hyatt Macau we learned that the little things really do make a big difference.

Chloe Chan, Shirley Chau, Medaki Chung, Claudia Lau, Kally Tong, Bonnie Wong, Phillis Yau BSc (Hons) in Hotel Management and Tourism Management students

SHTM students are active in their learning, observing with keen interest and always willing to be involved. Here, a group of students report on their visit to the Grand Hyatt Macau during a venue study

trip on 14-15 October last year, and we highlight the efforts of the all-student Organising Committee of the ninth APacCHRIE Conference.

Observations and Organisation

Student Activities

Students Organising Ninth APacCHRIE Conference

Thirty SHTM undergraduate students are currently hard at work as members of the Organising Committee for the ninth APacCHRIE Conference to be held at Hotel ICON on 2-5 June. With a theme of “Hospitality and Tourism Education: From a Vision to an Icon”, the conference will focus on the rapid development of hospitality and tourism education in the Asia-Pacific region.

Supervised by Ms Chloe Lau, the students have formed programme, sponsorship, publicity, hotel and registration, social, and youth teams, with the youth team responsible for the Youth Conference that will run parallel to the main event for only the second time.

The School has every confidence in the organising team, and looks forward to witnessing the results of their dynamism, enthusiasm and generous support.

21


On 27 November, the SHTM Alumni Association bade farewell to an old and dear friend – the School’s Millennium Training Restaurant. Opened as the PolyTop Training Restaurant in 1980, just a year after

the SHTM’s establishment as the Department of Institutional Management and Catering Studies, the venue holds fond memories for alumni who have graduated over the last thirty years.

External Affairs Secretary of the Alumni Association, Mr Benson Tang, remarked that the event was fully booked out in only four days, with more than 80 members in attendance. The evening, said Mr Tang, brought back “a lot of nostalgic memories” for Hotel, Hospitality and Catering Management graduates.

After cocktails to start off the evening, and a warm welcome to all by Association President Wallace Li, the four-course dinner commenced. As a special treat, serving as honorary chef for the night was alumna Ms Winnie Lau, Food Service Development Director at Dairy Farm Co Ltd.

To highlight the SHTM’s achievements over the last 30 years as it moves into a bold new phase of development, the menu featured not

only delectable cuisine, but also a timeline reminding diners of the School’s many milestones.

Not forgetting that nurturing students has been a central part of what the SHTM has achieved over that period, the Association arranged to have members recognise themselves in old School photographs, adding a very personal dimension to the night.

In another trip down memory lane, SHTM staff presented the diners with drink stirrers bearing the original PolyTop logo. Later, Association members

took a tour of the kitchen that brought back many old memories.

Yet not all of the activities were focused on the past. A feature of the evening that had everyone one in attendance looking firmly at the future was a talk given by Ms Mandy Soh, Marketing Communications Manager at Hotel ICON. Members were informed about not only the facilities in the SHTM’s new premises, but also about the Hotel’s vision for itself and the School moving forward into a promising future together.

Farewell to an Old Friend

Alumni Association News

1980s

1990s

Alum-notes

Alum

-notes

Ms Kanny Ho Diploma in Institutional Management and Catering Studies 1981 is the Director of Human Resources of the Jones Apparel Group/Jones International Limited.

Ms Joanna Sham HD in Institutional Management and Catering Studies 1988 is the Director of Human Resources of the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong in Causeway Bay.

Mr Wilson Lee HD in Institutional Management and Catering Studies 1988 is the General Manager of the Andaz Hotel in Shanghai.

Ms Evelyn Lam BA 1997 is the Operations Development Manager of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

Ms Christina Lam MSc 2004 is the Director of Sales of the Shangri-La China World Summit Wing, Beijing.

Mr Jean Keijdener Hong Kong Winter School 2005 is the Country General Manager of Somerset Palace, Seoul.

Ms Phoebe Wan HD in Hotel, Catering and Tourism Management 2007 is the Sales Co-ordinator of the Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong.

Ms Diana Da Eun Jeong MSc 2008 is the Cruise Sales Representative of Hanjin Travel in Korea.

Mr Thomas Liu BSc(Hons) in Hotel Management 2008 is the Revenue Analyst of the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel/Gateway Hotel/Prince Hotel.

Ms Gigi Wong BSc(Hons) in Hotel Management 2008 is the Assistant Sales Manager, Corporate of the Novotel Century Hong Kong Hotel.

Ms Iris Fung HD in Hotel Management 2008 is the Conference Executive of the Executive Centre.

2000s

22

HORIZONS

Alumni Association News

Speaker Title and Company Topic

Mr Giovanni ANGELINI Consultant, Hospitality Industry C-Level Leadership

Mr Bart BUIRING Vice President – Operations, Marriott International – Asia Pacific Developing an International Brand Hotel

Mr Ivan CHAN Marketing Development Manager – Hong Kong and Southern China, Tourism New Zealand New Zealand

Mr Sanguine K.H. CHAN Sales Manager – Sales Division, Leung Yick Company Limited Supply to the Beverage Serving Industries in Hong Kong SAR

Mrs Winnie CHAN Cruise Department, Miramar Express Marketing Cruises in Hong Kong

Mr Oliver CHEN Deputy General Manager, OCT International Hotel Management Co Limited The Development of OCT East

Miss Anna CHENG Manager, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui Hyattisation – Organisational Culture of Hyatt Regency

Mr Arnold CHENG General Manager – International Affairs, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited Aviation Policy

Mr Kenneth CHENG Officer, Macau Government Tourist OfficeDestination Marketing using Macau as An Example

Macau MICE Development and Venue Development

Mr Michael CHIAY General Manager, MCI Hong KongSuccessful Meetings and Conventions: Case Studies

Sustainable Meetings

Ms Sunny CHOW Manager, Hong Kong Wetland Park Visitor Management in Hong Kong Wetland Park

Ms Teresa CHU Senior Town Planner/TI, HKSAR Planning Department Urban Planning in Hong Kong

Mr Lincoln DAVIS Director of Quality Management, InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong

Driving Towards Excellence – Quality Management at the InterContinental Grand Stanford

Ms Susana FORK Director of Rooms, Hotel ICON Front Office Operations at Hotel ICON

Mr Alva FUNG Senior Operations Officer, HKSAR Civil Aviation Department Aviation Organisations and Aviation Policy

Mr Jerome HAINZ Manager, eBusiness, UBM Asia Technology in Meeting Management

Mr Stephen HAY General Manager, International Customer Loyalty Programmes Plc. (ICLP) Customer Relationship Management

Ms Jill HELLMAN Managing Director – China and Chief Innovator, Thayer Lodging Group C-Level Leadership

Ms Tisa HO Executive Director, Hong Kong Arts Festival Society Limited Hong Kong Arts Festival: Key Organizational Issues and Challenges

Ms Cathleen JIAO Assistant Director of Human Resources, Shangri-La Hotel, Xian Quality Customer Service and Hotel Training and Development

Mr Jerome JOSEPH Executive Director, Sodexo (Hong Kong) Limited Strategic Management

Kyabje KHAMTRUL Rinpoche His Eminence, Tibetan Buddhism Plateau - Living - Green - Learning

Mr Steve KLEINSCHMIDT President, Marco Polo Hotels Limited Corporate Strategy – Internal New Ventures and Acquisitions

Mr Steve KWONG Director, El Toro Wine Wine Studies

Mr Desmond LAM Director of Engineering, JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Environment Management in the Hospitality Industry

Mr Francis LAU Director of Learning and Development, Hotel ICON Functions of a Human Resources Department

Mr Bill LAW Manager – Strategic Planning and Research Division, Hong Kong Tourism Board

Urban Icons, Challenges and Issues in Hong Kong’s Strategic Tourism Development

Ms Linda LAW Group Administration Director, Step by Step Limited Employment Law

Ms Amy LEE Account Director, Guam Visitors Bureau Guam

Mr Philip LEE Chief Air Traffic Control Officer, HKSAR Civil Aviation Department Air Traffic Management

Ms Monica LEE-MULLER Deputy Managing Director, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited

Venue Marketing and highlight of the future trends in Venue Management

Ms Anne LI Company General Manager, Pico International Limited Exhibition Management

23Professor-for-a-Day Programme

Heartfelt Thanks to OurProfessors for a Day

Our heartfelt thanks go to the distinguished industry professionals who recently served as SHTM professors for a day.


24

HORIZONS

Speaker Title and Company Topic

Dr Gang LI Lecturer, School of Information Technology, Deakin University, Australia Targeted Rules Mining and its Application in Outbound Tourism Study

Mr William LIONG Manager – Airport Services, Hong Kong Airlines Limited Importance of Airline Ground Service

Mr Jesse LO Director of Food and Beverage, Hotel ICON Innovation Meets Application – Food and Beverage Outlets at Hotel ICON

Miss Karen LOManager – Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises, and International Representative for Hong Kong, Royal Caribbean International

1) Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited – Company Background2) Functions of Hong Kong International Representative3) Sales and Marketing Activities4) Preview of Allure of the Seas5) Introduction to Legend of the Seas

Mr Kingsley LOH Group Director of Revenue, Regal Hotels International Revenue Management in Practice

Mr Dino LUI General Manager – Service Delivery, Jardine Airport Services Limited Airport Services

Mr Terence LUI Human Capital Manager, Hotel ICON Human Resources Management

Ms Wendy LUK Project Manager – Partnership, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service Applying CSR to Events

Mr Charles MACASPAC Vice Consul, Philippine Consulate General Philippines – Wander Our Wonders

Ms Anastasia MAK Associate Member, Institute of Wines and Spirits Food and Wine Paring

Mr Toby MARION Director, Golden Gate Wine Company Limited Wines for the USA

Mr Tom MEHRMANN Chief Executive, Ocean Park Corporation Visitor Management in Ocean Park

Ms Agata MEUTI Wine Consultant Manager, First Wine The Italian Wine Industry and Wine Regions in Italy: Concentrating on Piedmont, Veneto and Tuscany

Miss Michele NAM Flight Attendant and local writer Observations from 30,000 Feet Above Ground

Mr Jinou PARK Director of Revenue Management and Analytics, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Revenue Management: Managing Demand and Capacity

Mr Antony PLATFORD General Manager, Novotel Century Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Mr Martin PUTNAM Environmental Manager, Airport Authority Hong Kong Environmental Impact of Airport

Mr Daniel SHEK Business Development Manager, InMart Resources Limited The Future of Hospitality with E-commerce

Dr Teresa TAO Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong International Tourism Policy

Mr David TULLOCH, Ms Emily WONG, Mr Richard CHAN, Mr CHAN Kam-wah

General Manager, Marketing Director, Sales Director and Technical Supervisor, Heineken Hong Kong Limited

1. Brand History of Heineken2. How to Pour a Perfect Beer and Beer Tasting3. A Super Brand and Corporate Social Responsibility

Mr Martin WAN Director of Engineering, Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong Road to Green Globe 21

Ms Vivian WAN Director of Conventions and Events, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong The Trend of Holding Meetings and Conventions in Hotels

Mr Arthur WANG Managing Director, Inno Hospitality Limited Visitor Management in Hotels

Ms Lucinda WONG Senior Manager – Corporate Communications, Hong Kong Tourism Board Roles and Work of the Hong Kong Tourism Board

Ms Kitty Y.C. WONG Assistant Manager – Marketing Division, Leung Yick Company Limited Trends in Beverage Marketing and Consumption in Asia and around the World

Mrs Gilly WONG General Manager – MICE and Cruise, Hong Kong Tourism Board MICE in Hong Kong

Mr Kenneth Cheuk-Hung WONG Head of Product Marketing, Hong Kong Tourism Board Marketing Hong Kong as Tourism Destination

Mr WU Sha-Jia Assistant Chief Engineer, Shangri-La Hotel, Shenzhen Environmental Management for Hospitality Industry

Dr Phil XIANG Assistant Professor, University of North Texas Understanding Travel Information Search on the Internet through Quantitative Text Analysis

Mr Jimmy YEONG Manager – Training and Services Development, Hong Kong Airlines Limited An Overview of In-flight Service Management

Ms Belinda Bik-Yiu YEUNG

Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Regal Hotels International Holdings Limited C-Level Leadership

Ms Katrin YEUNG Director – Marketing and Sales Office, Hong Kong and South China, German National Tourist Office, Hong Kong and South China Germany

Mr Henry YIM Marketing Manager, Kenya Tourist Board – Far East Kenya

Mr Lawrence YIPP Director, Hong Kong Trade Development Council Exhibition Management

Ms Agnes YU Managing Director, Cytise Distribution Limited Wine Regions in the South of France

24 Professor-for-a-Day Programme

HORIZONS

25


Upcoming Events

Date Event Organiser Contact

23 March 2011 Career Day 2011 SHTM Edelweiss YeungEmail: [email protected]

1-3 April 2011 International Convention and Expo Summit 2011, Korea

SHTM and Hallym University of Graduate Studies

Eunjoo YoonEmail: [email protected]: www.ices2011.com

11-13 April 2011 TTRA 2011 Europe Conference, France

Travel and Tourism Research Association – Europe, University of Savoie and César Ritz Colleges

Isabelle Frochot/John SwarbrookeEmail: [email protected]: www.ttra-europeconference-2011.com

13-15 April 2011 World Tourism Forum Lucerne 2011, Switzerland World Tourism Forum Lucerne

Martin BarthEmail: [email protected]: www.wtflucerne.org

31 May - 1 June 2011

4th International Forum on China Hotel Brand Development, Hong Kong

SHTM Qu XiaoEmail: [email protected]

2-5 June 2011 9th Asia-Pacific CHRIE Conference, Hong Kong

SHTM and Asia Pacific CHRIE

Carol LeeEmail: [email protected]: www.polyu.edu.hk/htm/conference/APacCHRIE2011

19-24 June 2011

Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management Conference, Turkey

School of Hospitality Business Management, Washington State University and Department of Tourism Administration, Bogaziçi University

Maria AlvarezEmail: [email protected]: http://lists.wsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/httrc

28 June - 1 July 2011

Surrey Tourism Conference 2011, UK University of Surrey

Anita AshfieldEmail: [email protected]: www.surrey.ac.uk/tourism2011

14-17 July 201110th Asia Pacific Forum for Graduate Student Research in Tourism, Singapore

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Singapore

Ye Yoon KimEmail: [email protected]: www.unlv.edu.sg/apf2011

27-30 July 20112011 International CHRIE Annual Summer Conference and Marketplace, USA

International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE)

Blaine SiskeWebsite: http://www.chrie.org

23-25 October 2011

7th China Tourism Forum, Haikou, China

SHTM and Hainan University, China

Leslie FungEmail: [email protected]

26-29 October 2011

International Conference on Tourism and Management Studies – Algarve 2011, Portugal

School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism, University of the Algarve and the Journal Encontros Científicos – Tourism and Management Studies

José António SantosEmail: [email protected]: www.esght.ualg.pt/conferencia/index.php

10-13 December 2011

World Research Summit on Hospitality and Tourism, Hong Kong

SHTM and Elsevier Ltd

Kaye ChonEmail: [email protected]

Robyn CamilleriEmail: [email protected]: www.tourismandhospitalitysummit.com

Calendar of Events

New Home for School




New Home for School




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