Tourism and Hospitality Fieldwork: Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa

This research focuses on the major attraction of Haw Par Villa, the Ten Courts of Hell, and aims to determine the actual cause or motive behind tourists visiting the place with their children. The research questions explore how the Ten Courts of Hell allow for children's learning and knowledge acquisition, the various activities managed at the theme park, the factors associated with the influence of tourists visiting the place, the most liked display, and the recommended measures for attracting more tourists. The literature summary discusses the background of Haw Par Villa and the Ten Courts of Hell nightmare theme park. The data analysis, findings, and discussions section presents the survey results on the visitors' opinions about the theme park's impact on learning moral and ethical values, disturbing visuals, innovation in tourism and hospitality services, and the attraction of the various statues and dioramas depicting Chinese folklore and mythology.

Running head: TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY FIELDWORK
Tourism and hospitality fieldwork
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Research background..............................................................................................................3
Problem statement..................................................................................................................3
Research aim..........................................................................................................................3
Research questions.................................................................................................................3
Literature summary....................................................................................................................3
Background of Haw Par Villa................................................................................................3
Ten courts of hell nightmare theme park................................................................................4
Subject matter conceptual framework........................................................................................5
Data analysis, findings and discussions.....................................................................................5
Recommendations....................................................................................................................10
Reflection on fieldwork............................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Research background
The research is conducted to focus on the major attraction of Haw Par Villa, i.e., the
Ten Courts of Hell, which can allow the people to experience something new and at the same
time, learn the moral values, beliefs as well as the Chinese mythology. The various courts of
hell presented in the theme park can allow the children and their families to gain
understanding about the after death life and how the individuals who committed sins may be
penalised brutally. The statues and visuals are though disturbing, still it is something new and
unique that is not common and due to this, it is a popular tourist destination in Singapore. The
Ten Courts of hell provide the different vice like cheating, disrespect to the elderly, drugs and
so on (Altinay, Paraskevas and Jang 2015). Moreover, the location has been convenient as
well, which has definitely influenced the tourists to visit the place and experience the various
themes effectively and consistently.
Problem statement
The rationale of the research represents the problem, which demonstrates that the Ten
Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa, Singapore consists of dioramas and figures that show
violence and sometimes may not be good for viewing by the children. There are many figures
and images that are not suitable for children viewing because of the gore and bloodshed
activities (Dredge, Airey and Gross 2014). The individuals who visit the place with their
children to make them learn about the Chinese Folklore and also about the legends, history
and Confucianism concepts too. Based on the problem stated, the research will aim at finding
out the actual motive or reason behind the tourists’ visiting the tourist destination in
Singapore (Bærenholdt, Haldrup and Urry 2017).

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Research aim
The aim of the research is to determine the actual cause or motive behind tourists
visiting the Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa, Singapore and with their children.
Research questions
 How can the Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa, Singapore allow for children
learning and knowledge acqusitions?
Answer: The Ten Courts of Hell signify the different types of punishments given to people
with some kinds of sins committed by them. This can make the children visiting the place
learn about the ethical values, morals and principles that are needed to be followed for
becoming successful in the future life.
 What are the various activities managed at Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa to
attract new clients as well as existing ones?
Answer: The Ten courts of hell is something unique that has been not be seen or found in any
other theme park and it has helped in making the guests enjoy a different kind of experience
after visiting the theme park.
 What are the various factors associated with the influence of tourists visiting the
concerned place?
Answer: The various factors include interest to learn and educate about various things, about
values, beliefs and moral principles that are needed to be followed as well. The uniqueness of
the theme park and other themes represented at the theme park are also considered as
essential factors for driving behaviours and influence the guests to visit the theme park too.
 Which one of the display of Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa has been the most
liked and praised by the children and tourists?

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Answer: The First court of hell is the most influential for the children and tourists as it sets
the scene and it represents the place where the preliminary trails are done and the prisoners
are being judged according to the activities done in the past life.
 What measures are recommended for the Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa to
ensure attracting more tourists and also influence others to visit the place again?
Answer:
 The engagement of social media platforms for enhancing the marketing procedures’
efficiency and even making every other activities at the theme park free of cost could
be effective for the attraction of new tourists.
 The theme park is also recommended to represent more cultural values and beliefs,
which should make people adopt with the local culture and learn the moral values and
principles effectively too
 It is also recommended to prioritise on the corporate social responsibility and even
focus on the development of sustainability goals for ensuring management of business
functioning in an effective way as well
Literature summary
Background of Haw Par Villa
According to PHUA and MILLER (2014), the Haw Par Villa theme park in Singapore
has been a major tourist destination, which has managed to draw in enough crowd and kept
people satisfied as a whole. The Ten Courts of Hell in Haw Par Villa, Singapore, being the
focus of the study, has represented the punishment given to people for committing each sins
within the lifetime. In spite of the nightmarish theme park, the tourists considered the
destination worth their trip (Phua and Miller 2014). The theme park was built in the year
1937 by the Tiger Balm founders and has been mainly developed with the purpose of making

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children study and learn about the Buddhist mythology and Chinese Folklore (Birna et al.
2013). The Ten Courts of hell not only represented the culture of the place, but also shed light
on the theme park’s new name as Haw Par Villa Dragon to recognize and acknowledge the
efforts put by the original builders of the theme park. The Ten courts of hell has been the
major attraction at the theme park, which demonstrated the Chinese mythology and also
focused on the past deed of people, based on which, they were being punished or sent to
paradise. In spite of being gruesome to a large extent, the new feature of the theme park has
made the children amused and at the same time, learn the importance of not committing any
sins to prevent getting punished for their wrong deeds (Ellis and Sheridan 2017). This
represents various chambers to penalise the evildoers and also determine the moral core
values, beliefs and ethical aspects that have been managed over the centuries too. This major
attraction in Singapore has also managed to attract he numbers of tourists and also ensured
influencing the behaviours of people to visit the theme park again as well (De Visser-
Amundson et al. 2016). Though the displays provide some violence and gruesome activities,
still it can ensure that the children learn new things and also understand the moral values,
beliefs to ensure not committing any sin (King and Zhang 2017).
Ten courts of hell nightmare theme park
Haw Par Villa offers not only the Ten courts of hell in the theme park, but also allows
for other attractions available for the people visiting the place. The Chinese mythology has
been presented in this theme park, which showed that the persons after passing away, mainly
arrived the First court of Hell and everyone’s deeds or activities in the past were considered
by King Qinguang and checked for their deeds, both good deeds as well as crimes committed
by them. In case, the good deeds outweigh the crimes or sins committed by them, they are
sent to paradise while the persons who committed sins were transferred to the Mirrors of
Retribution and then penalised for their evil doings (Martínez, Pérez and Rodríguez del

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Bosque 2013). At the second court where the evil doers are transferred and punishments h
had been given based on the sins that were committed by them. For example. For cheating in
school examinations or cursing other people were deemed as punishable considering the fact
that they were thrown into the tree of knives while the children visiting the place with their
parents also came to know about the punishment given for unlawful conducts, because of
which, head and arms were chopped off (Molz 2014). The punishments were given by a
green coloured monster named Hu Fa Shi Zhe, which managed to implement the laws and
punishments for the individuals who committed sins (Cai et al. 2018).
Therefore, it is clear that the tourists visiting the place should gain mind sets
regarding the activities and make sure to follow the moral and ethical values and beliefs in a
rightful manner too. The theme park also consists of other dioramas, which have been
inspired from the great folktales and this has been a great opportunity for the children and
people visiting the place to improve their moral education too (Tan et al. 2016). Moreover,
the theme park has been made free for entry, which also influenced many people to visit the
park quite often.
Subject matter conceptual framework
From the conceptual framework, it could be understood that the Ten courts of hell at
Haw Par Villa influenced a number of tourists to visit the place because of the effectiveness
Ten courts of hell, Haw Par
Villa
Allow for learning moral
and etical values and
beliefs
Influence people and
attracts them to visit the
theme park inspite of the
gruesome events

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to foster learning of moral and ethical values among people and children as well (Tan et al.
2016). In spite of the nightmarish display of gore and violent graphics, it makes people learn
a lot about the moral and ethical values, which should be followed and not commit any sin
that might lead to negative impacts after life (Phua and Miller 2014). These learning benefits
about the moral and ethics values and beliefs along with the Chinese folklore stories have
created some uniqueness and ensured innovation of services delivered to the tourists visiting
the pace and due to this, the place has managed to influence many tourists to visit the theme
park in Singapore (Du Cros and McKercher 2014).
Data analysis, findings and discussions
1. Did you visit the theme park, i.e., Ten courts of hell at Haw Par Villa in
Singapore?
ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Yes
80.00%
8
–
No
20.00%
2

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
TOTAL 10
Analysis- From the analysis of survey responses, it could be analysed and interpreted that
most of the respondents, i.e., 8 out of 10 respondents have visited the theme park while only
two out of the 10 respondents responded to the fact that they did not visit the theme park.
2. Do you believe that the theme park enables good learning scopes and
opportunities about the moral and ethical values that should be followed by
children?
ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Strongly agree
40.00%
4
–
Agree
30.00%
3
– 10.00%

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
Neither agree nor disagree
1
–
Disagree
10.00%
1
–
Strongly disagree
10.00%
1
TOTAL 10
Analysis- According to the survey results, 7 out of 10 respondents have agreed to the
statement that the visit to the theme park has made multiple learning scopes and opportunities
to arise for the children to understand the moral and ethical values need to lead a proper life
in the future. The least could be see for the negative responses, which are provided by only 2
out of the 10 respondents.
3. The theme park often influences children and their behaviours by making them
adopt good values and beliefs to become successful in life

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Strongly agree
30.00%
3
–
Agree
10.00%
1
–
Neither agree nor disagree
30.00%
3
–
Disagree
30.00%
3
–
Strongly disagree
0.00%
0
TOTAL 10

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Analysis- After analysing the survey results, it has been found that 4 out of 10 respondents
agreed to the statement while the negative responses are also a bit higher, i.e., 3 out of 10
respondents disagreed to the statement. The 3 remaining respondents out of 10 respondents
remained neutral in their responses, which represent that the positive and negative responses
were somewhat similar, which contradict the statement to be true or false.
4. Is it true to believe that the gruesome visuals at the Ten Courts of Hell of the
theme park can disturb the minds of people, especially the children?
ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Very likely
50.00%
5
–
Likely
40.00%
4
–
Neither likely nor unlikely
0.00%
0

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Unlikely
10.00%
1
–
Very unlikely
0.00%
0
TOTAL 10
Analysis- From the responses provided in the survey, the majority is recorded in the very
likely and likely categories, which represent that the statement is true and thus, the gruesome
visuals at the Ten Courts of Hell of the theme park can create disturbed minds and also affect
the mental health and wellbeing. Only one out of 10 respondents disagreed to the statement.
5. The theme park has brought innovation in the management of the tourism and
hospitality services to influence the behaviours of people through extensive
marketing efforts

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Strongly agree
50.00%
5
–
Agree
20.00%
2
–
Neither agree nor disagree
10.00%
1
–
Disagree
20.00%
2
–
Strongly disagree
0.00%
0
TOTAL 10
Analysis- From the analysis of survey responses, it is found that 7 out of 10 respondents
believed the statement to be true while only 2 out of the 10 respondents disagreed to the
statement. Only one respondent remained neutral in the responses, which show that the
positive responses outweigh the negative responses and therefore, could be analysed and
interpreted that the marketing techniques have influenced the tourists to visit the place and
the tourism and hospitality services have also been facilitated largely.
6. Not only the Ten courts of hell is a major attraction for the tourists, but also the
various statues and multiple dioramas depicting Chinese folklore and mythology have
attracted tourists from all over the world

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ANSWER CHOICES– RESPONSES–
–
Strongly agree
80.00%
8
–
Agree
10.00%
1
–
Neither agree nor disagree
0.00%
0
–
Disagree
0.00%
0
–
Strongly disagree
10.00%
1
Total Respondents: 10

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Analysis- Considering the analysis of survey responses, out of 10 respondents, 8 of them
have responded positively and it is the majority in this case while only 1 out of 10
respondents fall in disagree category who do not agree with the statement. Therefore, the
majority here is the positive responses, which demonstrate the statement to be true and
evident considering the statement.
Recommendations
 It is recommended for Ten courts of hell at Haw Par Villa, Singapore to focus on the
marketing activities considering the promotions and advertising for enriching the
customer experience and create brand awareness among people too. This would
ensure influencing the tourists to visit the theme park more frequently.
 Few rides and other entertaining themes should be added for enhancing the outlook
and ensure that the children visiting the theme park can experience other joy rides in
case they do not want to experience the nightmarish dioramas of the Ten courts of hell
 The theme park is also recommended to represent more cultural values and beliefs,
which should make people adopt with the local culture and learn the moral values and
principles effectively too
 It is also recommended to prioritise on the corporate social responsibility and even
focus on the development of sustainability goals for ensuring management of business
functioning in an effective way as well
 The social media engagement is also recommended for enhancing the marketing
efficiency and facilitate the promotions to ensure attracting more potential as well as
existing clients, furthermore, encourage them to visit the theme park in Singapore

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Reflection on fieldwork
I have learned about the tourism and hospitality management aspects and how the
theme park in Singapore has managed to attract clients in spite of the nightmarish statues and
theme represented at the Ten courts of hell in Haw Par Villa, Singapore. From the study of
the research, I have also understood how to develop the literature summary and at the same
time, helped me to present a conceptual framework to link the variables present in the
research. I have managed to assess various secondary sources of data to ensure that the right
data and information are presented to facilitate the conducting of research effectively too.
Based on the fieldwork, I also came to know about the moral values and beliefs along with
various aspects of Chinese mythology and folklore tales, which can make children respect the
culture and allow them to learn many things that can be fruitful for their growth and
development in the future too.
Conclusion
The research was done with the aim of understanding the motives behind people
visiting the Ten Courts of Hell at Haw Par Villa, Singapore. The place had been a major
tourist attraction in Singapore, which made the children and people learn about the Chinese
moral values and beliefs and even think before committing any sins, which might result in a
negative afterlife impact. The topic also demonstrated about the various punishments that
individuals might face as well as allowed the individuals visiting the theme park to learn a lot
of things.

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Tan, B., Cai, Y., Zhang, Y., Wu, X., Chen, Y. and Yang, B., 2016, December. Virtual reality
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