Tourism Theory: Access, Spatial Interactions, and Market Decay

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of tourism theory, specifically focusing on the impacts of physical access, market access, and spatial interactions on tourist flows. The study critically reviews existing literature and contrasts different ideas related to distance decay and market access. The research then applies these theoretical concepts to a practical case study of Hong Kong, utilizing primary and secondary data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to examine the relationship between access, spatial behavior, and tourist arrivals. The analysis includes a comparative study of both short-haul and long-haul markets, evaluating the concept of market decay in light of recent trends. The report integrates theory and practice, discussing management implications and providing insights into how access influences the development of tourist facilities and itinerary models. The findings highlight the importance of physical infrastructure, market access, and political stability in shaping tourism patterns, with a focus on understanding how these factors contribute to the success of a tourist destination.

Running head: TOURISM THEORY
Tourism Theory
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors Note:

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Abstract:
Tourism business for many regions in the world is one of the main sources of revenue for the
governments and locals of these places. A detailed study on the important elements of the
tourism business shall be beneficial for the tourism industry in general to attract more tourists in
the future. The findings from the study shows the impact of physical access on tourist flows. The
development of tourism industry in any country or location to large extent is dependent on the
market access. It is important to have access to market for the tourism industry to flourish and
the study certainly proves it beyond any doubt. The study shows that there are number of
elements that attract the tourists to a place. These elements include building, bundling, creation
of precincts to tourism, developing touring routes and attractive events.

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Contents
Abstract:...........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Part 1:...............................................................................................................................................3
Critical review of literature:.........................................................................................................3
Comparing and contrasting different ideas:.................................................................................6
Methodology:.............................................................................................................................11
Finding:......................................................................................................................................11
Distance decay:..........................................................................................................................12
Part 2:.............................................................................................................................................13
Reviewing the theory with practical practice in Hong Kong by using primary and secondary
data:............................................................................................................................................13
Part 3:.............................................................................................................................................15
Integrating theory and practice:.................................................................................................15
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................31
References:....................................................................................................................................32

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Introduction:
Hong Kong is a region in the People’ Republic of China. Located in the eastern side of Pearl
River Estuary, Hong Kong is a specially administered region of the country. The region is one of
the most densely populated regions in whole across the globe with more than 7.4 million people
of different nationalities and culture living in a total area of 1,104 square kilometer in the region.
The region is especially popular for number of attractive locations for the tourists. People from
all over the world visit Hong Kong as it provides number of attractive tourist spots (Bunghez,
2016). Also the fact that the region has become one of the most sought after financial centers in
the world helps in attracting tourists. The infrastructure is also one of the regions to attract
tourists in the region as the infrastructure of the region can easily challenge the infrastructure of
any developed western states. A detailed study on physical access to market, spatial interactions
ways to create attractions, importance of itinerary models and management access implications is
provided in this document (Fang, Ye & Law, 2016).
Part 1:
Critical review of literature:
In order to evaluate the concept of market decay in Hong Kong tourism it is essential to visit the
HKTB’s visitor profile and collect report from 2005 to 2018. The information available in the
official website of Hong Kong Tourism Board clearly shows that the tourist arrivals in Hong
Kong have increased per year. In fact even the latest monthly data shows significant increase in
tourist arrivals from both Mainland China and non-Mainland China. The arrivals of tourists from
short haul market as well as long haul markets have also increased each month as per the latest
report. The extracts taken from the HKTB’s website shows the increase in number of tourist
arrivals in Hong Kong in recent months. Thus, the concept of decay in Hong Kong Tourism is

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falling flat at the very first hurdle. The official data about tourist arrivals from Mainland China,
Non-Mainland China, short haul market, long haul market and even new markets have all shown
significant growth in recent years and months. Decay in tourism market would firstly show
stagnation in the number of tourist arrivals in the place from both domestic and foreign markets.
However, here the official data about tourist arrivals in recent years have suggested that the
number of arrivals from different parts of China and foreign countries have increased
significantly.
However, there are number of reasons for the concept of decay in Hong Kong tourism to be
tested. These reasons include the continuous human right violation allegations against the China
in Hong Kong and other parts of the country, the political situation of the state and others. It is
due to this that despite being part of Mainland China, visitors to Hong Kong from Mainland
China have to undergo multiple restrictions and regulations. Even people of Mainland China
have to undergo immigration regulations to come to Hong Kong thus, the fear of degradation in
the tourism business in Hong Kong is due to some valid reason. However, the historic data on
tourist arrivals from as early as 2001 and as recent as the month of August, 2019 show that the
number of tourist arrivals from Mainland and Non-Mainland China both have increased
significantly with each passing month and year.
Due to the immigration restrictions even for the citizens of China to come to Hong Kong the
Tourism board has introduced Individual Visitor Scheme (IVS) and multiple visa policies for the
leisure visitors. However, these policies and decisions have also increased the conflicts between
the visitors from Mainland China and residents of Hong Kong. However, both IVS and multiple
visa policies have positively influenced the number of tourist arrivals in this part of the country
from both domestic and foreign market. In fact the number of arrivals from new markets such as

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India, Russia, Vietnam and other parts of the world have also increased significantly subsequent
to the introduction of Individual Visitor Scheme and multiple visa policies for leisure visitors. In
fact the growth in leisure tourism in Hong Kong has been exceptional since the introduction of
IVS. In past 18 years the region has seen exceptional increase in the number of visitors from
Mainland China and Non-Mainland China.
The tourism industry is driven by attraction and there is no two ways about the same. However,
the importance of access and the ease with which visitors reach the destinations is crucial to the
overall attraction of a place as far as the tourism aspects are concerned. The critical aspect to
tourism is that if the tourists are unable to reach the destinations properly or no time then the
whole aspect of attraction is lost completely (Guillet & Kucukusta, 2018). Hence, the importance
of access is crucial to the success of tourism business in anywhere around the globe. The
availability of products and experiencing the culture of the place are restricted significantly if the
physical access is limited. Hence, the importance of physical access is key to the success of
tourism industry in a place and it is not different in case of Hong Kong also (Ladkin & Weber,
2017). The three features of access are as following:
I. The physical access and its impact on tourism flow.
II. The market access and its impact on demand.
III. The impact of tourism itinerary models.
Physical access and its impact on tourist flow:
The term physical access clearly explains that it is about the process of tourists getting to the
desired locations in tourist destinations. Overall it is about the quality of infrastructure of the
region that leads to the tourist spot which determines the ease of physical access for the tourists.

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The infrastructure include the roads, the transportation system including air, sea and road
transport facilities in the place and charter access to the region (Lam & Gao, 2018). All these are
crucial to the overall growth and success of a tourism industry in any region. The ease of
reaching various destinations in a region would depend on these elements of infrastructure and
thus, it is important for any region to have a standard infrastructure in place to improve the
physical access of the place.
Advantage of strong physical access is not enough:
However, strong physical access is certainly an advantage but it is not enough for the
development of any region as tourism hot spot. In order to improve the attractiveness of a place
as tourism destination it is essential to have other attributes such as the market access, tourism
itinerary stable political situation, no unrest or political agitations and good law and order
situation (Law, Rong, Vu, Li & Lee, 2017).
Comparing and contrasting different ideas:
The tourism industries in different parts of the world has different approach to develop the
industry in these regions. There are number of different countries which have extremely high
proportion of income coming from the tourism industry as compared to many countries that have
average proportion of total income coming from tourism industry and then there is countries
which have very low proportion of total income coming from tourism industry. A comparative
and contrasting analysis of these countries shall be helpful in understanding the differences in
ideas (Law, Rong, Vu, Li & Lee, 2017).
The 8 markets chosen for comparison and contrasting the arrivals in Hong Kong in recent years
include 4 long haul market and 4 short haul market. The 4 long haul markets for the purpose are

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United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. 4 short haul markets on the
other hand are Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia.
In the month of December, 2017 and December 2018 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from
the short haul markets were as following:
Short haul markets December 2017 December 2018
Japan 109,572 126,195
South Korea 131,898 136,800
Singapore 78,047 84,667
Malaysia 72,953 72,267
In the month of July, 2018 and July, 2019 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from the short haul
markets were as following:
Short haul markets July 2018 July 2019
Japan 87,439 89,908
South Korea 98,776 78,210
Singapore 36,518 34,726
Malaysia 28,820 26,513

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In the month of August, 2018 and August, 2019 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from the
short haul markets were as following:
Short haul markets August 2018 August 2019
Japan 119,194 89,120
South Korea 112,959 72,166
Singapore 37,740 22,842
Malaysia 30,658 19,763
The above data provides interesting data about the tourist arrivals in Hong Kong in recent
months. Whereas the December, 2018 data which is only about 10 months back from now
showed that the number tourist arrivals to Hong Kong from each of the short haul markets have
increased significantly as compared to the arrivals of corresponding month of 2017. However, in
last few months the trends have changed a bit (2019). The number of arrivals from the short haul
markets in July, 2019 have declined for South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia compared to the
number of arrivals in the corresponding month of preceding year, 2018. However, the arrivals
from Japan have increased a bit comparatively in July 2019 as against the number of arrivals in
corresponding month 2018. In August, 2019 the decline in number of arrivals from these short
haul market is sharper than the comparative decline in the month of July, 2019. All the 4 short
haul markets have registered decline in number of tourists from 26% to 40% in August, 2019
from the corresponding month of 2018. The recent protests in Hong Kong has certainly
influenced the decision of the tourists to visit the region. Comparative analysis of long haul

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markets in recent period shall further indicate particular trend in this respect, if any ("Latest
Statistics", 2019).
In the month of December, 2017 and December 2018 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from
the short haul markets were as following:
Long haul markets December 2017 December 2018
USA 109,783 117,517
UK 46,462 46,367
Germany 16,574 19,239
Australia 54,655 61,122
In the month of July, 2018 and July, 2019 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from the short haul
markets were as following:
Long haul markets July 2018 July 2019
USA 105,698 104,385
UK 39,538 40,090
Germany 13,965 13,864
Australia 47,022 41,476

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In the month of August, 2018 and August, 2019 the number arrivals in Hong Kong from the long
haul markets were as following:
Long haul markets August 2018 August 2019
USA 89,055 66,364
UK 41,393 35,032
Germany 14,749 12,447
Australia 40,084 29,957
It is clear from the data on tourist arrivals from long haul markets of USA, UK, Germany and
Australia that in recent months, especially in July and August 2019 the number of arrivals to
Hong Kong have reduced in comparison to the number of arrivals in corresponding months of
previous year, i.e. 2018. Thus, both short haul markets and long haul markets have shown same
trend as far the tourist arrivals are concerned (2019). The protest in Hong Kong along with
political unrest due to clamp down of Chinese Administration on the local residents of Hong
Kong have certainly influenced the tourism industry in the country and specifically in Hong
Kong. However, it would immature to term this as a decay in Hong Kong tourism as this is more
like a temporary blot in ever growing tourism market in Hong Kong and China (2019).
Existence of distance decay is true for tourism business globally and it is not different from Hong
Kong tourism also. The graph below showing the footfalls of tourists from 4 long haul markets,

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i.e. US, UK, Australia and Germany. The impact of distance decay is quite clear from the
downward line.
Methodology:
The data of international tourists’ arrivals in 270 plus countries over the last five year’s period
would be compared and contrasted to form an opinion on prosperity of tourism industry in
China, Hong Kong specifically compared to the other countries around the globe.
Finding:
Accumulated from the International Tourism Year Book shows the China has significant number
of international standard arrivals as compared to many major countries. In fact except East Asia
& Pacific countries, Europe and Central Asia countries, Central Europe and the Baltics and Arab
Worlds no combined region have higher international tourist arrivals than China ("Mapping and
Its Importance to Supply Chains: A Case Study", 2018). The contribution of Hong Kong in the
overall international standard arrivals in China is highest. Thus, it is clear that the region has
immense impact on the overall tourism industry in the world (Mattsson & Orfila-Sintes, 2017).