Roles
3) International Air Transport Association (IATA)
The international Air Transport Association (IATA) was established in 1945 in order to promote safe, regular, and economical air transport. The members of IATA are individual international airlines.
Functions of IATA include:
• To act as a ticket clearing house ; and
• To ensure the standardization of prices, tickets, and baggage checks.
The main role of IATA is coordinating international commercial airline industry activities and compromising on international airfares.
Reference: IATA. Retrieved from http://www.iata.org/index.htm
Activity 5.1
--- Tourist Confidence and the Role of Government
Tourist attractions are important elements in the travel industry, attracting tourists to a certain destination. However, the occurrence of serious incidents weakens the attraction of a destination, and causes tourists to lose confidence in travelling there. A recent string of incidents at Ngong Ping 360, and incidents in which mainland tourists have been cheated etc., have seriously damaged the image of the Hong Kong travel industry.
Question:
When such problems occur, how should relevant government authorities restore tourist confidence in Hong Kong?
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Activity 5.2
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Quiz: How much do you know about Hong Kong tourist attractions?
1. List four Hong Kong tourist attractions you like to visit and guess which category of tourist attractions they belong to:
Different categories of tourist attraction
Please use a 「√」 for each separate category of tourist attraction
Hong Kong tourist attractions I like
to visit
Natural landscapes Historical remains Culture and customs Religious and sacred objects and sites Architectural sites Special items and programmes Entertainment and leisure, sports activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
2. Have you ridden on the Ngong Ping 360 or gone to Ngong Ping village? What do you think of this tourist attraction? (Students may answer freely)
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Activity 5.3
--- Case Study
Newspaper Clipping: Ngong Ping 360
Excerpt from: Ming Pao, 4 October 2007
Since its completion on 18 September 2006, more than 1.5 million passengers have ridden Tung Chung’s Ngong Ping 360 cable car, with many being drawn to visit the shops and restaurants in Ngong Ping village. On 11 June 2007, one of Ngong Ping 360’s cable cars flew off. Although no one was killed or injured in the incident, this accident damaged the reputation of Hong Kong’s tourism industry.
After the accident, the government immediately announced that the cable car would be shut down until the cause of the accident could be determined. For the following three months, the number of visitors to Ngong Ping village plunged. The subway company exempted business owners from rental payments and promoted all-inclusive tickets, which allowed tourists to use such tickets to travel for free on the bus that ran between the subway station and Ngong Ping village, in the hopes that these measures would attract tourists. However, this hardly made up for the losses suffered by business owners. Some business owners chose to close down temporarily and cut their losses.
After three months of investigation, the government decided to withdraw Skyrail’s operating rights early and turn operations over to the subway company.
To quote Tam Heung Man, Legislative Councillor of Accountancy, the most effective way of restoring city residents’ confidence, in addition to the waived of rental payments for shop owners while the cable car was not running, was to maintain the relevant arrangements for a period of time after the cable car resumed operating, until the number of visitors to Ngong Ping village had recovered to the level before the cable car stopped running, and maintain it at a stable level for some time before ending such arrangements.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Describe how the special features of Lantau Island’s tourist attractions (including famous spots such as the Tai O fishing village, Ngong Ping 360, Po Lin Temple and the Big Buddha) attract tourists.
2. Would you have ridden the Ngong Ping 360 cable car after it started running again? Apart from methods to restore tourist confidence mentioned in the article, please suggest two other measures that could be carried out by the government or the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
3. Apart from the impact the Ngong Ping 360 cable car incident had on the cable car operating company and businesses in Ngong Ping village, which other industries would have been affected by this?
4. Apart from the incident mentioned in the above article, try to cite three factors or incidents that would have a direct impact on the volume of travellers to Hong Kong.
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Activity 5.4
--- Case Study
Newspaper Clipping: Travellers Ripped Off
Excerpt from: Ming Pao, 27 September 2007
On the eve of Golden Week on May 1st 2007, CCTV broadcast a report on mainland tourists who had been ripped off while shopping in Hong Kong, and local media at the same time exposed an increase in the number of complaints about cases of doubtful “zero-inclusive fee” shopping rip-offs, in which rogue shops had sold imitation goods and refused to give refunds.
At the end of 2006, the Hong Kong Tourism Board even signed a “Quality and Honest Hong Kong Tour,” with mainland travel agencies guaranteeing that prices for travel groups would be clearly marked, while ensuring that there would be time to explore and shop freely. Nevertheless, there were still never-ending reports of mainland tourists being cheated, hitting confidence in domestic tourists who came to Hong Kong to shop.
Subsequently, the TIC (Travel Industry Council), in order to strike out at bad elements in the industry, promoted various preventive measures. Mr. Tung Yao-chung, Head of the TIC, indicated that the Council had decided to extend its 14-day money-back guarantee to three months and to ban specified shops from operating under new names, to prevent rogue shops from changing their names and cheating customers.
The then-Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr. Tong Hin-ming, also dispatched staff to Hebei and Switzerland to investigate mainland tourists who had complained of being ripped off, along with the owners of Swiss watch brand trademarks, and initiated prosecutions based on the results of the investigation. Customs, the Consumer Council and the TIC have also set up a notification system.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Apart from the TIC, Customs and the Consumer Council, what forms of co-operation is the development of tourism in Hong Kong dependent on to restore confidence among travellers?
Please explain your answer.
2. What method(s) does the TIC use to supervise specialist operations in the industry?
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