Research Proposal: Understanding Ten Courts of Hell Tourist Behavior

This research proposal investigates the motivations of tourists, particularly families, who visit the Ten Courts of Hell in Singapore. The study aims to address the increasing popularity of this attraction, despite its graphic depictions of hell and violence. The proposal outlines the background of the site, it...Read More

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Letter of Transmittal
02 August 2019
Name of the sender
Address
Dear……..,
The given report can be understood to be a research proposal which has been
designed to provide a proposed question relating to the overall motivation of the different
tourists to visit a place. The tourist destination which has been chosen can be understood
to be the Ten Courts of Hell in Singapore. In regard to this, the following proposal
presents the research backgrounds, the question and justification with respect to the same.
In regard to this, the Review of Literature has also been provided.
Regards,
Signature

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Background..........................................................................................................................3
Problem statement...............................................................................................................3
Research questions...............................................................................................................4
Justification of topic............................................................................................................4
Fieldwork research methods................................................................................................5
Literature..............................................................................................................................5
References............................................................................................................................8

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Background
The Ten Courts of Hell can be understood to be a popular tourist destination
present in Singapore and primarily focuses on the journey of hell after a person dies.
Located at the Haw Par Villa in Singapore, the place is build based on a Chinese folklore
and since 1937. The destination was built by Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, the park is
designed to teach the chidren traditional Chinese values (Anxiousadventures.com 2019).
The different courts of hell comprise of a different learning for the child and reflects on
the manner which states that the different degrees of sin which have been comitted by an
individual will lead to the after death life (Thedeadcockroach.blogspot.com 2019). The
place can be agreed to be an adventourous place for the children and this can be
understood to be the reason why it is popular among them only. The place talks about the
different vices like cheating, disrespect to the elders, drugs and other related vices. It can
be understood that this place is popular so as to ensure that the child learns good values.
Problem statement
The problem statement which can be understood in the given section can be
related to that of the reason why the different tourists want to visit the place. In line of
this, it can be rightfully understood that, the place is rather graphically very violent in
nature and has a considerable amount of bloodshed and related activities. However, in
relation to this, it can be understood that there are various tourists who still want to visit
the place and take their children along with them. Hence, it is in relation to this that, the
study aims to find the ulterior motive of the tourists to visit the particular tourist
destination.

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Research questions
The study aims to answer the following research questions in order to understand
the overall reason for the popularity of the tourist place:
 What are the factors which influence a tourist decision to visit the place, The Ten
Courts of Hell?
 What is the relationship between the Chinese principles associated to the ten
courts and the factors associated to visit the place?
 What are the strategies which can be recommended to the ten courts of Hell to
increase their tourist attraction?
Justification of topic
The reason why the particular topic has been adopted can be understood to be the
fact that, the tourist count to this place in Singapore has been increasing considerably and
specially the family visits to the place has also increased. Moreover, although the images
and structures can be understood to be graphically very violent, the families still take
their children to the place. The reason behind these visits can be considered to be an
interesting topic for discussion and hence, the project aims to highlight the reasons for the
visit and the popularity of the place.
Fieldwork research methods
The research methods and different techniques form an integral part of the
research work and in line with this, any research which wants to ensure success in the
long run would be required to see to it that, the research methods which are used for the

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purpose of the study have the overall capability to meet the research objectives set.
Hence, in order to understand the reason why the different tourists want to visit the place
and the factors which make these places particulalry popular, the research strategy which
the study aims to adopt can be undestood to be the quantitative research technique. The
Primary method of data collection will be adopted for the purpose of the study whereby
the information will be collected from the survey structured quantitatively and the
analysis will be based on the same to find the relationship between the factors influencing
the tourists to attend the Ten courts of Hell and the aspects which influence the tourists
about the place.
Literature
Decision making of the tourists
The overall decision of travelling can be understood to be a rather complex one
and in relation to this, it becomes considerably crucial for the different tourists
destinations to gain an understanding of the fact whether they will be able to provide the
requisite offering or not which wold assist them in making the place particularly very
popular (Decrop 1999).
Factors influencing the decision making of the tourists to visit a place
The decision making of the tourists can be understood to be very complex in
nature and it is with respect to this that the different factors influencing the different
tourists can be understood to be as follows:
Perceived value: The Perceived value refers to the value which the tourists believe a
place has to offer (Sirakaya and Woodside 2005). The Perceived value has a great role to
play in the decision making aspect and in relation to this, with respect to the Ten courts of

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Hell, the perceived value can be understood to be the Chinese values instilled in the
particular place. Hence, in regard of this, the different places need to ensure that they are
able to instill the right values in the different employees which will help in attracting the
tourists to the place (Smallman and Moore 2010).
Popularity on social media: The popularity of a place on the social media tends to
influence the different tourists to take the decision with respect to the place (Garg 2015).
Hence, the different organizations would be required to ensure that, they are able to
advertise well on the social media which would ensure long term success.
Budget: The Budget of a traveler has a great role to play in the overall decision making
procedure of the traveler (Boavida-Portugal, Ferreira and Rocha 2017). The traveler
decision is reliant on their income and allocation to the travelling expenses. The budget
friendly places generally attract a larger audience and hence, this is the reason various
tourists destinations often promote combinations and offers for the popularity.

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References
Anxiousadventures.com 2019. Haw par villa Singapore ten courts hell [online].
Available at: http://www.anxiousadventurers.com/haw-par-villa-singapore-ten-courts-
hell/ (Retrieved on: 02 Aug. 2019).
Boavida-Portugal, I., Ferreira, C.C. and Rocha, J., 2017. Where to vacation? An agent-
based approach to modelling tourist decision-making process. Current Issues in
Tourism, 20(15), pp.1557-1574.
Decrop, A., 1999. Tourists’ decision-making and behavior processes. Consumer behavior
in travel and tourism, pp.103-133.
Garg, A., 2015. Travel risks vs tourist decision making: A tourist
perspective. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Systems, 8(1), pp.1-9.
Sirakaya, E. and Woodside, A.G., 2005. Building and testing theories of decision making
by travellers. Tourism management, 26(6), pp.815-832.
Smallman, C. and Moore, K., 2010. Process studies of tourists’decision-making. Annals
of tourism research, 37(2), pp.397-422.
Thedeadcockroach.blogspot.com 2019. Haw par villa ten courts of hell. [online].
Available at: https://thedeadcockroach.blogspot.com/2014/10/haw-par-villa-ten-courts-
of-hell.html (Retrieved on: 02 Aug. 2019).