台灣高空滑降之行銷推廣計劃 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學商學院國際經營管理英語碩士學位學程 International MBA Program College of Commerce National Chengchi University. 碩士論文政治. 大. 立Master’s Thesis. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 sit. y. Nat. 台灣高空滑降之行銷推廣計劃 n. al. er. io. Business Plan for a Canopy Course Tour Service in Taiwan. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Student: Jose Antonio Rivera Fernandez Advisor: Professor Yong-Zhen Shen. 中華民國九十九年七月 July 2010.

(2) 台灣高空滑降之行銷推廣計劃 Business Plan for a Canopy Course Tour Service in Taiwan. 研究生：黎宏安. Student: Jose Antonio Rivera Fernandez. 指導教授：沈永正. Advisor: Yong-Zhen Shen. 政治大. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 國立政治大學. ‧. 商學院國際經營管理英語碩士學位學程碩士論文. sit. y. Nat. er. io. A Thesis. n. a l to International MBA Program Submitted iv n. C. i U e n g c hUniversity NationalhChengchi. in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master in Business Administration. 中華民國九十九年七月 July 2010.

(3) Acknowledgements First and foremost, as a gesture of gratitude I would like to dedicate this piece of work to our almighty God, for without his will I would not have been able to complete my thesis, or even take on this two-year journey in Taiwan. After many months of not being able to find a thesis topic that would awake my interest, I asked for illumination and guidance. In a matter of days, our always-merciful God granted me this illumination and has guided my every step during the making of this business plan, opening magical doors for me, earning for me the sympathy of knowledgeable people, revealing crucial research studies, and putting in my path all the. 政治大. material I needed to complete this work in only a few weeks.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Next, I would like to thank my father, who is my eternal raw model, and who through his life’s example has taught me that we can always achieve a better life and happiness by being. ‧. righteous in judgement and action; my mother, whose prayers and guidance have kept me safe and earning good grades for as long as I have memory; and a big thank you to my sister, who. sit. y. Nat. has always been ready to listen to me and encourage me. To my dear Sophie, thank you for. io. er. your love, patience, support, your help with the EICP database, random Internet research and for nurturing my mind and body with your remarkable cooking.. n. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. To Lichi and Frank, my two saviour angels during these past two years, I will take you in my heart and mind always. To my advisor, professor Shen, thank you for agreeing to be my thesis advisor despite your tight schedule, and for sacrificing your family’s well deserved time in order to grant me words of wisdom and clarity. To James, thank you for your help on the gondola insight information, and for that refreshing cup of red tea atop the Maokong Gondola on that hot summer day. Last but not least, a warm thank you to all my friends and acquaintances that directly or indirectly have helped me somehow along the way.. . I .

(4) Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... I Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... II Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Business Idea Background ........................................................................................................................... 3 The Business Idea ........................................................................................................................................... 7 The Industry ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 Opportunity Identification .......................................................................................................................... 14 . 政治大. Ownership and Company Structure ........................................................................................................ 17 . 立. Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 19 . ‧ 國. 學. Project Design & Development ................................................................................................................ 21 Offered Services ............................................................................................................................................ 22 . ‧. Pricing ............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Frameworks for Internal and External Situational Analysis ........................................................... 36 . Nat. sit. y. Customers ........................................................................................................................................................ 39 . er. io. Competitors ..................................................................................................................................................... 42 Alliances and Agreements .......................................................................................................................... 44 . n. al. Ch. i Un. v. The Marketing Mix ....................................................................................................................................... 45 . engchi. Investment Requirements ........................................................................................................................... 48 Financials ......................................................................................................................................................... 51 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 56 Appendices ...................................................................................................................................................... 59 . . II .

(5) Executive Summary Canopy Taiwan will be a foreign subsidiary of Rifersa S.A. de C.V. from El Salvador, Central America and setup in Taipei, Taiwan. Canopy Taiwan will develop and run a canopy course tour service in the Maokong area, using an ambitious and innovative business model that has been highly successful in attracting millions of adventure sports enthusiasts, fans and tourists to the rainforests of Central America.. The development of the canopy course consists in building treetop platforms interconnected. 政治大 inclination, visitors can “zip”立 through mountains and forests “Indiana Jones style” but aided with industrial-grade steel cable. By taking advantage of the area’s natural downward. ‧ 國. 學. with modern safety equipment that requires minimum skill and guarantees no real risks to our visitors. Traditionally, the implementation and operation of this business model does not. ‧. adversely impact the ecosystem, nor contribute to the degradation of the environment; however, it does offer visitors a unique and addictive experience that will enrich their. sit. y. Nat. knowledge and awareness about Taiwan’s ecology and culture. One of the great advantages of. io. er. this business is that it will provide a means for preserving the area’s rich ecology and revitalizing economic activity without resorting to industrialize the area, which would surely. n. al. i Un. v. offer economic benefits but at the expense of the environment.. Ch. engchi. In order to complement our visitors’ experience we will also offer short tours to over twenty unexplored tourist attractions around the top of the Maokong area, and along each of the canopy course’s seven strategically located platforms. By offering these tours we will further differentiate our service while enhancing our visitor’s cultural experience, but most importantly, tour services will use the already existing flow of tourists in the area and grant access to an additional market segment.. . 1 .

(6) Mission Statement Canopy Taiwan is dedicated to offering a unique, thrilling, safe and rewarding experience that uses nature to its advantage, is rich in culture, and inflicts no harm to the environment around it.. Our Market and Our Customers After conducting extensive research, Canopy Taiwan identified three different highly profitable target markets: 1) Adventure sports enthusiasts. 政治大. 2) Entertainment seekers 3) Adventure Tourists. ‧ 國. 學. Competitors. 立. Currently there are no known dedicated, commercial level canopy courses in Taiwan, but at. ‧. least two South East Asian countries have been developing this business model in the last two to five years. This means that as of today Canopy Taiwan would have no direct competitors in. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. Taiwan, and it could leverage from the many advantages of being a first mover.. n. Financial Projections and Plans. Ch. i Un. v. A detailed market segment analysis has enabled us to prepare realistic sales forecasts. engchi. considering multiple scenarios. After combining our sales forecasts with our estimated startup capital requirement and operational expense plan, we’ve obtained favourable net income and cash flow levels. Because of the relatively low level of investment required (US$155,555) for the development of the operation, specific target market features such as non-price sensitive customers, and the fact that the business model does not have any variable costs components, our financial assessment indicates that the business can payback for itself during the first year of operation. Furthermore, because of the previously mentioned conditions, we can anticipate a Net Present Value of US$ 1.3 million and an IRR of 271% within three years, even with very conservative target market penetration assumptions and low introductory prices.. . 2 .

(7) Business Idea Background Being native to El Salvador, a country located in Central America, I’ve been raised in a nation with completely different conditions to Taiwan, or other developed countries. With few valuable natural resources, a large national external debt and a fairly uneducated segment of the population, our economy has to rely on different business models to achieve prosperity.. Beginning in the mid 80’s and into the decade of the 90’s, Central American countries began to put their hopes in Tourism, with Costa Rica leading the pack. However, the increase in tourism was soon identified as a potential threat to the countries’ ecologies. Many. 治政 of their ecologies to achieve industrialization, knew that大 industrialization is a one-way road 立 with permanent damages to a country’s natural ecological reserves. Organizations dedicated. industrialized countries around the world, which managed to almost deplete significant parts. ‧ 國. 學. to conservation had been raising arguments for many years regarding the irreversible effects of global warming. Seeing that there was no way to curb the rate of acceleration of. world countries to preserve their still unspoiled forests.. Nat. sit. y. ‧. industrialization in their own countries, first world nations hopes turned to convincing third. er. io. Convincing third world countries to preserve their forests by giving them protected ecologic. al. n. iv n C industrialization ambitions too. For instance, “Amazon” rainforest was dubbed “the h e n gBrazils’ hi U c earth’s last lungs”, yet the media would show how the forest was slowly being harvested for reserve status would prove to be a difficult task. After all, third world countries had. timber and other precious resources in order to fuel Brazil’s industrialization ambitions. The solution to this dilemma had been conceived a couple of years before by Thomas Lovejoy of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With his introduction of the “Debt-for-Nature Swap”1 program, it was possible to forgive a portion of a developing nation’s external debt in exchange for commitments to preserve the nature of the country in question. The dilemma was then, how to benefit from our region’s natural resources yet keeping up our international compromises to preserve nature. The answer was found in Ecotourism, which according to the International Ecotourism Society’s mission statement, can be defined as                                                          1 See Wikipedia, DebtforNature Swap, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt‐for‐ Nature_Swap (as of May 1, 2010, 17:00 GMT). . . 3 .

(8) “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people”. As ecotourism started to take off, many new ecotourism compatible activities were identified, in some cases creating more specific tourism niches. Some activities were not necessarily new, but under the light of this new popular trend, it was possible to bring back to life even old forgotten activities such as biking. As a result, today the biking industry has been completely revitalized, catering to a different segment of customers who like to think of themselves as outdoors and nature lovers.. Zip-lining and canopy course touring, is an example of a specialized niche derived from. 政治大. ecotourism, which is further known as adventure travel/tourism. Wikipedia defines adventure travel as “a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly. 立. hostile areas.” According to the U.S. based Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure. ‧ 國. 學. travel may be any tourist activity as long as it includes at least two of the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction, and finally, engagement. ‧. with nature. Adventure travel is able to gain tourists’ excitement by putting them in a position in which they have to step outside of their comfort zone. This can be easily achieved in. y. Nat. sit. specially developed or adapted facilities in which participants can perform acts that require. al. er. io. significant effort and involve some degree of perceived or real risk and/or physical danger.. n. The definition so far includes activities such as mountain/rock climbing, mountaineering,. Ch. i Un. v. bungee jumping, mountain biking, white water rafting and canopy course touring/zip lining.. engchi. This business plan’s main objective is to establish an outline that will facilitate the successful introduction of zip-lining/canopy course touring business in Taiwan. However, at this point it is necessary to introduce and explain this activity. According to Wikipedia, “a zip-line (also known as a flying fox, foefie slide, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide or tyrolean crossing) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to traverse from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable, usually made of stainless steel, by holding on or attaching to the freely moving pulley. Zip-lines come in many forms, most often used as a means of entertainment. They may be short and low, intended for child's play and found on some playgrounds. Longer and higher rides are often used as a means of accessing remote areas, such as a rainforest canopy.. . 4 .

(9) Zip-line tours are becoming popular vacation activities, found at outdoor adventure camps or upscale resorts, where they may be an element on a larger challenge or ropes course.”. Similarly, a set of zip-lines interconnected through platforms constructed on a forest’s treetops, covering a significant land area is called a canopy course. Canopy courses usually work using professional versions of a zip-line and are most typically used as an outdoor adventure activity. Wikipedia explains, “In contrast to "flying foxes" professional courses are usually operated at higher speeds covering much longer distances and sometimes at considerable heights. The users are physically attached to the cable by wearing a harness,. 政治大. which attaches to a removable trolley. A helmet is required on almost all courses of any size. Cables can be very high, starting at a height of over 30 feet (9 m), and travelling well over. 立. 1500 feet (457 m). All zip line cables have some degree of sag. The proper tensioning of a. ‧ 國. 學. cable is important and allows the ability to tune the ride of a zip line.”. ‧. The origins of canopy course zip lining are rooted in forest scientific research. The increasing importance leading to an exponential number of biodiversity research studies in the last. y. Nat. sit. twenty years required a means to allow scientists to study forests’ flora and fauna with. al. er. io. minimum damage to the ecosystem being studied. Additionally, it was found that these. n. research studies yielded a greater amount of information if carried out using an aerial view of. Ch. i Un. v. the area. This led to observation methods from treetops, but the method proved to be very. engchi. limited since scientists could only climb one tree at a time, and it still did not solve the issue of the impact associated with walking on the soil of highly sensible areas. To solve this problem, scientists incorporated mountain climbing and rappelling techniques to allow them to easily displace themselves from one tree to another by suspending themselves through cables secured on healthy trees using a non-invasive tying technique that does not deteriorate or hurt the tree. Since then this technique has been used by scientists to carry out their studies in sensitive areas in countries with large extensions of virgin forests. One such example is Costa Rica, a Central American country rich in biodiversity throughout its abundant rain forests.. . 5 .

(10) Logically, the first country that adapted canopy courses into tourism applications is Costa Rica. Courses there allow vacationers to literally “zip” through rainforests by accessing a number of platforms constructed around treetops. By building platforms in locations with panoramic views of the forest, and by taking advantage of the forest’s natural inclination, Costa Rican canopy courses offered tourists and zip-line enthusiasts the opportunity to discover a rainforest in a thrilling yet ecologically safe experience. Not surprisingly, soon enough the rest of the Central American countries followed the idea, opening their own canopy courses in their own rainforests or in other suitable locations that were believed to be attractive enough to bring in tourists. So far the model is still successful in Central America,. 政治大. and has become a favourite pastime of many young and not so young people.. 立. Before coming to study to Taiwan, one of my pastimes in El Salvador was visiting canopy. ‧ 國. 學. courses. The first time I tried a zip-line was at my employer’s country house, where he had personally constructed an amateur level zip-line. This zip line would take off from the house’s. ‧. roof and go down a natural hill into a platform built around a tree. Once there it was necessary to change into another zip-line for the final descent to the ground. The experience, despite. y. Nat. sit. being a bit amateurish, proved to be thrilling, and a few weeks after my first try I found out. al. er. io. about a small canopy course that had been opened close to my house. Having taken the bait of. n. the “adventure worm”, I did not hesitate to explore this newer commercial alternative. The. Ch. i Un. v. experience proved to be addictive, and soon after, I became a regular customer of this last. engchi. course. In just a few weeks I managed to introduce many of my friends to this new experience. A few years later I visited a town in Honduras called Copan. This town had few industrial developments, but since there were Mayan ruins and rainforests in the town’s vicinity, a lot of the activities available for tourists were related to ecotourism. One such ecotourism activity was a canopy course featuring 14 interconnecting zip-lines departing from the top of a 2,000 feet mountain and crossing several hectares of forest. This canopy course featured two guides travelling with the party, facilitating the zip-on and off activities. Another main feature was a 1.6Km cable line. The level of professionalism experienced in this course was far better than the one I had gone to before, and since then I consider myself a regular canopy course tour consumer.. . 6 .

(11) The Business Idea The Business Idea Having spent almost two years in Taiwan, I’m not yet aware of any commercial zip-line facilities or canopy courses in the country. Also during my time here I’ve learned that a large proportion of Taiwanese of all ages enjoy outdoor activities as well as being in harmony with the environment. Opening up a canopy course in Taiwan could be an opportunity to establish an innovative, profitable and environmentally friendly business model.. 治政大 or that currently practice similar who already have some degree of awareness of the concept types of activities. Thus, the 立 most likely source of initial customers should be adventure. Since this is a new concept in the country, it is expected that initial customers would be those. ‧ 國. 學. tourists, local adventure sports enthusiasts, and locals who have travelled abroad and who have awareness of what a canopy course is. As is the case with other activities, such as the. ‧. modern day bicycling trend, hopefully the canopy tour concept will then be adopted by additional segments of the local population, further increasing demand.. sit. y. Nat. al. er. io. One of the advantages of a canopy course is that it is a modular type of business, that is, it is. v. n. possible to build a limited number of zip-lines and platforms at first in order to keep the initial. Ch. i Un. investment small. If there is a favourable market response to the concept, then it’s possible to. engchi. add more platforms and cables to cover a larger area at a later time. The location of the canopy course should be determined by appropriate identification of multiple factors, such as a large number of visitors to the area, easy accessibility of the area, geographical features that the area can offer, topography, climatic and environmental conditions of the area.. Upon identification of the location’s potential, it is likely that more than one location is suitable for the development of the canopy course. In this case we will have to address issues such as what is the right strategy for the development (simultaneous or linear development) according to the specific opportunities and forecasted revenues that each location may offer. Other considerations relevant to deciding upon the ideal location of the canopy course are related to the climate conditions that each location is subject too. For example, if the ideal. . 7 .

(12) location is identified in Taipei, then the business model has to consider variables such as humid weather and monsoon season each year. These climatic conditions will result in adjustments to the business model such as the canopy course having slow seasons at some point. If the ideal location is identified for instance in Southern Taiwan, where the weather is more stable year round, the business model will still need to be adjusted to coincide with high tourism seasons in that specific area.. As is the case with all canopy courses, staff will be hired to lead and help the visitors through the course. The interaction between the tour guides and visitors should be tailored according. 政治大. to the specific opportunities identified in Taiwan. Some of the orientations in which the interaction between guides and visitors could focus on, besides the panoramic views, are the. 立. 學. ‧ 國. local fauna, the local flora, and bird watching to say a few.. The Industry. ‧. The canopy course tour business idea is an outdoor recreational activity that combines elements that are attractive to at least two clearly defined market segments, and each is part of. sit. y. Nat. a different industry. The fact that a canopy course is located in a forested mountain is. io. er. attractive to domestic and international tourists, for it allows an opportunity to have a quick retreat from the city and experience the outdoors, while providing a close look of the area’s. n. al. i Un. v. flora and fauna. On the other hand, because the course is built on treetop platforms and. Ch. engchi. requires participants to hook and zip on to zip lines at considerable heights from the ground to complete the course, there is also an element of risk that is extremely attractive to adventure sports devotees. Since this project’s prospects of success will greatly depend on the conditions concerning these two industries, let us address relevant aspects of each industry in the rest of this section.. . 8 .

(13) Historical Perspective of World Tourism The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in its Historical Perspective of World Tourism analysis2, identified tourism as one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of the past century. When measured by the number of international arrivals, it is possible to appreciate a historical evolution beginning at 25 million international arrivals in 1950, to approximately 806 million in 2005. This represents an overall average annual growth rate of 6.5%, with new destinations such as Asia and the Pacific accounting for 13% on average a year, while now matured areas, such as the Americas and Europe, have slowed their growth rate to a mere 5% and 6% respectively. As of 2006, the International Ecotourism Society. 政治大. (TIES) considered the travel and tourism industry as the largest business sector in the world economy, being responsible for over 230 million jobs and over 10% of the gross domestic. 立. product worldwide. In terms of size, if tourism were a country, it is said that it would have the. ‧ 國. 學. second largest economy of the world, surpassed only by the United States.. ‧. World Tourism Outlook. Despite the challenges facing the tourism industry as a result of a deteriorating world. y. Nat. sit. economy during 2009, historical growth so far is encouraging. For instance, during the 1950’s. al. er. io. as mentioned before, international arrivals accounted to 25 million, while in 2008 they had. n. already reached 922 millions, proving that over the past six decades the tourism sector has. Ch. i Un. v. experienced a degree of growth and diversification large enough to allow the industry to be. engchi. considered one of the largest and fastest economic sectors in the whole world. Further reinforcing that the industry is regaining momentum, according to a UNWTO World Tourism Barometer publication as of April 2010, preliminary figures compiled reveal that for the first months of 2010, the industry shows a 2% increase in tourist arrivals over the last quarter of 2009. Specifically growth has been positive in all the regions in the world, but the Asia Pacific region has led this growth with a 10% increase rate. It is worthwhile mentioning that quite a few countries even went as far as posting double-digit growth in these first months. One such case is Taiwan, which posted a 28% increase, way ahead over other trendy destinations in the area such as Hong Kong (+14%), Macao (+16%), Singapore (+21%), and almost head to head with traditionally strong competitors such as Japan (+29%).                                                          2 http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/historical.htm . . 9 .

(14) Ecotourism Information available in “The Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet”, a publication by the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) allows us to further drill down from the global tourism industry into the ecotourism market. Since the origins of ecotourism in the 1990s, it has been growing at a rate of 20% to 34% year. By 2004, in comparison with the tourism industry as a whole, this niche was growing globally 3 times faster. While sun and sand resort types of tourism is now considered a mature market with flat future projections, experiential tourism (which by some definitions includes ecotourism, nature, heritage, cultural, and soft. 政治大. adventure tourism, as well as subsectors such as rural and community tourism) is among the sectors with fastest growth expectations over the following two decades. The United Nations. 立. Environment Programme (UNEP) and organizations such as Conservation International also. ‧ 國. 學. have identified most of tourism’s expansion to be occurring in and around the world’s remaining natural areas.. ‧. Adventure Tourism. y. Nat. sit. Another topic of interest in the industry pertains to the unclear relationship between. al. er. io. ecotourism and adventure tourism. In fact, it is necessary to recognize that to this date the. n. term “adventure travel” is not a clearly defined segment. The reason being that many. Ch. i Un. v. activities and business models considered to be a form of adventure travel might also be. engchi. captured as ecotourism, heritage tourism, volunteer tourism, rural tourism, community tourism, wildlife tourism3, and so on. Findings disclosed in the Adventure Travel Supplier Survey 2005 (a study prepared for the Adventure Travel Trade Association by the Michigan State University), point out that Adventure travel is one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry especially in many of the developed regions in the world. Despite this rapid expansion, business owners and managers have little research information at hand. One of the principal problems was the lack of definition in the industry around its core services. As a matter of fact, not even suppliers were able to agree on what activities constituted adventure travel.                                                         . 3 Adventure Travel Industry Growth Statistics, Xola Consulting pg.2 . . 10 .

(15) When it comes to dimensioning the size of this niche, Adventure Engine 4 (an on-line adventure travel tour operator) claims that according to an extensive study completed in the year 2000, adventure travel accounted to 7% of the total travel market. The latest statistical estimate, also from year 2000 puts the market size at US$8 billion, but other organizations claim the size is close to US$30 billion by now. Furthermore, a report by Xola Consulting Group quoting Millington (2001), “the international adventure tourism market amounted to between 4 and 5 million trips in 2000, representing about 7% of all international trips taken during that year.” The adventure travel industry seems to be particularly attractive to Americans and Europeans, with indications of growth on both continents and other regions of. 政治大. the world (Swarbrooke et al., 2003). To sustain this position, a Mintel Report5 in 2001 on the European Adventure Travel Market suggests that the adventure side of the package tourism. 立. business in Europe accounts for something in the region of 25% of the total package sales.. ‧ 國. 學. This indicates that, excluding domestic travel, the total size of the European Adventure travel market is some 443,000 holidays per year. On the other side of the continent, the Travel. ‧. Industry Association of America has estimated that about 10 percent of Americans have taken an adventure-travel trip, and that it's industry is growing by about 10 percent a year6. Despite. y. Nat. sit. recent hardships endured by Western economies, it is clear that the demand and supply sides. al. er. io. of this industry are determined to grow. A February 2010 publication of the Adventure. n. Industry Snapshot7, carried out by the Adventure Travel Trade Association concludes that. Ch. i Un. v. businesses on this industry are very optimistic about 2010, nearly “70 of operators expect to. engchi. grow in 2010 and 21% expect to stay at par.”. The Tourism Industry of Taiwan Taiwan’s tourism and recreation market can be divided into two primary categories, mainly domestic demand (leisure recreation) and foreign demand (tourism). Foreign visitor numbers have been climbing at a rate ranging from 5-10% overall in the last few years, and 60% of the                                                         . 4 http://www.adventureengine.com/market.php . 5 Adventure Travel.  European Report.  October 2003.  Mintel International Group. Cited . in Niche Tourism; Edited By Marina Novelli; Elsevier, Butterworth, Heinemann; 2005 6 Kristin Jackson, “Going semi‐wild on adventure tours;” Seattle Times; May 22, 2005 7 http://www.adventuretravel.biz/research/adventure‐travel‐industry‐snapshot‐ february‐2010/ . . 11 .

(16) market is still made up by domestic demand. A recent government publication8 states that 43% of foreign visitors come for tourism purposes and 27% for business purposes. As for their origin, 33% come from Japan, 12% from Hong Kong and Macao, 11% from the United States, 6% from Korea and 5% from Singapore. This same publication claims that currently the tourism industry employs on average over 200,000 persons.. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council 2010 country report for Taiwan, despite a slowing in the tourism industry as a result of the worldwide financial crisis, most of Taiwan’s key travel and tourism indicators remain promising. The contribution of travel and. 政治大. tourism to the country’s GDP, for instance, is expected to stay the same at 3.6% (TWD 467.6bn or US$14.9bn) in 2010 to 3.6% (TWD803.1bn or US$28.4bn) by 2020. Real GDP. 立. growth for the industry is expected to be 2.5 in 2010 and to average 4.2% per annum over the. ‧ 國. 學. coming 10 years. Still on a positive note, the contribution of the Travel and Tourism Economy to employment is expected to rise from 4.3% of total employment, 444,000 jobs or. ‧. 1 in every 23.4 jobs in 2010, to 4.5% of total employment, 547,000 jobs, or 1 in every 22.1 jobs by 2020.On the investment side, travel and tourism investment is estimated at TWD. y. Nat. sit. 227.8bn, US$7.2bn or 8.7% of total investment in 2010. The forecast estimates that by 2020,. al. er. io. this should reach TWD 483.1bn, US$17.1bn or 9.6% of total investment. In this same report,. n. Taiwan was ranked 41 (absolute ranking) out of 181 countries, but a5th place out of 7 countries in Northeast Asia.. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. The Adventure Sports Industry Adventure sports, also known as action sports, but perhaps most widely known as extreme sports, are an unclear, debatable and constantly changing set of sports that are generally perceived to have a greater risk factor compared to the traditional sports. Although highly subjective, adventure sports differentiate from other sports because they often involve activities that allow practitioners to experience speed, height and physical exertion using highly specialized equipment or a combination of each of these factors, that result in an adrenaline rush feeling for the person practicing it. In terms of age, people who engage in this                                                          8 Tourism & Recreation Industry: Analysis & Investment Opportunities, Department of . Investment Services; Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2009 . . 12 .

(17) kind of sports are usually thought to be younger than average when compared to other types of sports. This may be because extreme sports may require higher levels of energy and skill, usually associated with young age; however this is not a rule. As a matter of fact with the increased exposure and popularity of adventures sports, a greater number of older people are becoming fans and participants of these types of sports. Although it is not possible to prove it, there is a general belief that adventure sports originated somewhere between the 1950’s and the 1970’s, with the increase in popularity of activities such as rock climbing, mountaineering, bullfighting, marathon running and motor racing. Still, it wasn’t until 1995 when the heavy promotion of the “Extreme Sports” concept by ESPN’s. 政治大. multi-sport event X Games, that the concept was ultimately materialized. Some say that the reason for the gain in popularity for adventure sports is an increase in the need of danger in. 立. everyday life generated by an increasingly safe society. In other words, the safety brought by. ‧ 國. 學. the modern world forced many people into monotonous lifestyles, depriving them of opportunities to experience danger or risk, and so they seek for it in these kinds of activities.. ‧. Compared to other niches in the sport industry there is substantial evidence that suggests that. y. Nat. sit. adventure sports are growing faster than any other sport. For instance, according to a report. al. er. io. by Global Industry Analysts Inc., the total number of participants in the five most popular. n. extreme sports is more than 40 million in the USA alone9. Further supporting evidence of. Ch. i Un. v. growth in this segment, according to the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA),. engchi. the United States surf industry posted retail sales of $7.22bn in 2008. In the European side, a 2005 Mintel report revealed that “over 25% of 16-24 year olds had participated in extreme sports, a growth of over 10% since 200310.” Additional research by Mintel shows that about 6% of the UK population expressed an interest in extreme sports, although only 1% actually participates. This report’s findings lead to the conclusion that extreme sports are the fastestgrowing segment of the leisure market. There is also potential in new markets terms of the industry outlook. Global Industry Analysis Inc., has predicted “a bright future ahead” in China. In recent years, it seems that adventure sports have also gained much popularity in Taiwan. Findings from a 2007 research study carried out by Tien-Chich Hsieh, which focuses                                                          9 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10130842.stm 10 http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news//4036524.html . . 13 .

(18) on “the recreational motivation, sensation seeking and recreational involvement of Taiwan’s adventure recreation participants” put the number of organizations of 5 extreme sports (paragliding, surfing, scuba diving, mountaineering and rock climbing) in Taiwan at 157, which indicates a healthy presence of these sports.. Opportunity Identification The industry analyses previously presented show that there are favourable developments in the current conditions of the tourism and adventure sports industries. Specifically, the tourism industry analysis supports that there are clear areas of opportunity at a global, regional and local level. Asia’s relative insulation from the financial crisis that has affected. 政治大 currently growing, present a 立 very fortunate opportunity to take a stake and share this growth.. many parts of the world, and the fact that ecotourism and the adventure tour market niches are. ‧ 國. 學. Similarly, there is much potential for growth in the adventure sports industry, with data indicating a growing trend in the United States, Europe and Taiwan. Some sources believe that the next area to undergo growth is China, but in Taiwan there four very important. ‧. favourable conditions that could support a viable business model in this industry.. sit. y. Nat. One of these favourable conditions is Taiwan’s strategic location. Taiwan is located in the. io. n. al. er. middle of the western pacific festoon of islands (Geography of Taiwan, 2010). Situated at the. i Un. v. western rim of the Pacific Basin, the island plays an important role as an East Asian crossroad. Ch. engchi. providing easy access to China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. This means that Taiwan has access to a diverse and significant amount of potential customers who would face no difficulties to come visit and take advantage of tourist related activities (see illustration 1). Another favourable condition is Taiwan’s topography and pedology. Taiwan is a rugged island with mountains accounting for 30% of the total area, hills and plateaus for 40%, and plains for the remaining 30%. Taiwan’s coastline is approximately 1,566 kilometres in length, with a diverse type of coastal landscape ranging from eastern fault coast, western coast, northern mixed coast and southern coral reef-coast. This also represents a favourable condition for a canopy course type of business because the large number of mountains and hills provide plenty of natural slopes, which are a necessary resource to make zip lines work.. . 14 .

(19) 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. Illustration 1 –Taiwan’s Strategic Geographical Location. ‧. A third favourable advantage is Taiwan’s climate. With the tropic of cancer (23.5° N) running. Nat. sit. y. across Taiwan’s middle section, the island’s climate is divided into a subtropical climate in. io. er. the north, a tropical climate in the south, and an island wide average annual temperature of about 24 degrees Celsius in the South and 22 degrees Celsius in the North. Having such. n. al. Ch. i Un. v. moderate weather is extremely important for and outdoor business because it allows the. engchi. business to be open for most part of the year. The fourth and final favourable advantage is perhaps the most important advantage among the ones previously mentioned, and it is Taiwan’s high biodiversity. With a mere 36,000 squared kilometres, Taiwan holds an extremely wide variety of flora and fauna. The island’s 18,400 species of wildlife of which about 20% are considered rare or endangered species include 62 types of mammalian species, 29 amphibian, 80 reptilian, 60 fresh water fish, and 50,000 insect species. The country boasts the second highest concentration of bird species per square kilometre in the world, with 450 different species. There are also large areas of indigenous sub-tropical mountain forests rich in cypress, juniper, fir, bamboo and some rare camphor trees. There is no doubt that this unique biodiversity would represent a key-differentiating factor from attractions in the rest of the world.. . 15 .

(20) There is one very unique area of opportunity available to Taiwan, which presents great potential from both of the identified target markets. This area refers to the raising number of Mainland Chinese tourists that are recently flooding Taiwan. A recent Asiaone news article points out that tourism in Taiwan has grown faster than anywhere in Asia last year as a result of this influx of Chinese visitors. According to this article, The Tourism Bureau reported that Taiwan experienced a 14 percent increase in visitor numbers to 4.395 million in 2009 compared to an average 2 percent fall across the rest of Asia. This represents almost a 200 percent increase from the previous year. Taiwan is aiming to attract 4.8 million visitors in 2010, which are expected to generate US$240bn in revenues.. 政治大. It is not surprising that for some time, Taiwan’s government has identified tourism as a third. 立. channel (after diplomacy and trade) to help project Taiwan unto the international stage11.. ‧ 國. 學. Currently there are a number of plans set up by the government aiming to improve tourism. Some of these plans are:. Plan to Double the Number of Tourist Arrivals. •. Guidelines for the Development of Tourism and Sports Recreation Services Industries. •. Phase I Three-year Head Start Project of Taiwan’s Economic Development Visions. y. sit. Eastern Taiwan Sustainable Development Plan Taiwan Tourism FlagshipC Plan h. engchi. er. al. n. •. io. •. Nat. for 2015. ‧. •. i Un. v. In compliance with these plans, the government is encouraging private investment for the acceleration of development, turning Taiwan into a multi-faceted tourism environment. For tourism intensive areas (i.e. Taipei County, Eastern Taiwan, Penghu and other offshore islands) this means investments in local infrastructure, the building and renovation of related facilities, elevating the quality of conventional hotels, and the renovation of major scenic spots around the island (for example Maokong, Kenting National Reserve Park), and the development of supporting industries (hot spring resources, transportation and restaurants)..                                                          Service Industry Development Newsletter . 11 Taiwan. . 16 .

(21) Some initiatives that the government of Taiwan has put in place also represent favourable direct opportunities that could help the successful implementation of the canopy course tour business idea. One such government initiative is to provide loans and funds to incentive growth in this industry. To support the implementation of the government’s tourism and recreational industry policy, the Executive Yuan’s Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) is providing mid and long term funding of approximately NT$10bn in preferential loans to tourism, sporting and recreational services related enterprises over a five year period, from November 2006 to October 2011. According to the CEPD’s, its main objective for granting these loans is “to provide funding for service enterprises’ business development plans”.. 立. 政治大. Other governmental initiatives take the form of contributions to flagship projects and local. ‧ 國. 學. government investment. For instance, currently Amazing Holdings PLC is involved in the development of a multi-billion-NTD large hotel and holiday resort in Penghu County. The. ‧. measure will be followed by possible developments of tourism intensive casinos in that area. Further potential investments include projects to establish China’s Home Inns, France’s Accor. y. Nat. sit. Hotels and Starwood hotels and resorts. A final area of opportunity involves the Taiwanese. al. er. io. government’s plans for development of theme-based travel, which will provide support to. n. botanical tours and Taiwanese cultural tours. Specific help measures for these areas are still to be implemented.. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Ownership and Company Structure The canopy course tour concept will be incorporated as “Canopy Taiwan”. The company will be a foreign subsidiary of RIFERSA, S.A. de C.V., a small family business incorporated in 1993 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Current ownership of RIFERSA S.A. de C.V. is shown in the following table:. . 17 .

(22) Table 1 – Company Ownership Name. Relationship. Percentage of Ownership. Antonio Rivera. Father (Founder). 25%. Aracely Fernandez de Rivera. Mother. 25%. Natalia Rivera Bowman. Daughter. 25%. Jose Antonio Rivera. Son. 25%. Company Structure. 政治大. RIFERSA Board of Directors. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 Jose A. Rivera C.E.O. of Canopy Taiwan. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Natalia Rivera C.E.O. of RIFERSA. Staff (12). Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Staff (9). Illustration 2 – Company Structure. . 18 . Ms. Sophia Cheng Consultant.

(23) Goals and Objectives General Primary Goals of the Company Develop an innovative, sustainable, profitable business model that does not adversely impact the ecosystem, nor contribute to the degradation of the environment by offering visitors a unique and addictive experience that takes into account the constraints of the natural and cultural environment around it. The business concept should allow visitors to experience and learn about the aesthetic, biological, physical and cultural values of the natural environment, with minimal impact on the natural environment, and with minimum use of resources and. 政治大. energy. Design of the required physical structures should be integrated with the local environment.. ‧ 國. 學. Secondary Goals. 立. Provide economic development and diversification particularly in regional areas. •. Assist in the distribution of income by benefiting directly the communities around the business. y. Nat. Contribute in the generation of income that pursues the long-term conservation of the. sit. •. ‧. •. •. al. iv n C U a tourism environment that Contribute with Taiwan’s government h e nvision g c hof icreating n. •. er. io. natural areas involved. Generate additional skilled employment opportunities, using local talents. focuses both on quality and quantity, turning Taiwan into a major tourist destination in Asia.. Short-Term Objectives (First year of Business) •. Implement phases of project design and development (see next section). •. Acquire necessary permits. •. Negotiate lease/rent agreements of land. •. Obtain specialized insurance. •. Acquire canopy course material and equipment (steel cables, securing fixtures, wood and aluminium structures, harnesses, gloves, helmets, etc.). . 19 .

(24) •. Begin construction/development of structures and cable installation (Civil/Industrial Engineer consultant may be needed). •. Acquisition, selection and training of staff. •. Undergo facility and concept testing. •. Design & implement pre-opening campaign. •. Launch operation. •. Feedback & fine-tuning phase. •. Establish a safety inspection mechanism. •. Achieve minimum revenues of $202,491.50, equivalent to 5,785 visits (break even). Medium-Term Objectives. 政治大. 立. Perform first year revenue analysis based on actual results. •. (If results are positive) Consider feasibility of expanding the business model to other. ‧. •. ‧ 國. locations. 學. •. Identification of potential additional location(s) for other canopy courses in other cities in. y. Nat. Taiwan and subsequent implementation •. Feedback & fine-tuning of operation as a whole. •. Achieve a Net Income of US$600,000 or more by the end of the second year of operation. Ch. engchi. er. n. al. sit. Assess sources for additional project funding (if required). io. •. i Un. v. Long-Term Objectives •. Strengthening of business model. •. Service Augmentation: Incursion into other ecotourism/adventure travel related activities, i.e. white-water rafting, caving, rock climbing, trekking.. . 20 .

(25) Project Design & Development 1 -Preliminary Design The canopy course draft design will take into account important factors such as: •. Location. •. Ideal number of stations/platforms. •. Total distance travelled through the canopy course. •. Land areas to be included in the course. •. Thrill level (speed, inclination and length of each section). 2 - Cartographic Analysis. 立. 政治大. This analysis studies the topography of the terrain using geographical cards, aerial photos and. ‧ 國. 學. plans of the infrastructure positioned over a geographical card. This will render a final geographical orientation of the land area to be studied.. ‧. 3 - Preliminary Reconnaissance of the Terrain. Nat. sit. y. During this analysis the sections of interest of the forest will be covered in order to determine. io. er. the structural condition and age of the trees growing in the area. This is important for properly designing the platforms and anchoring the cables to the trees.. n. al. 4 - Terrain Topographic Study. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Through this study it is possible to view at terrain level what has been previously viewed in maps. Terrain heights and drops will be measured, and platform-trees and landforms (physical features) will be positioned using GPS. Using the points set in the GPS, a map will be designed taking into account the geographic position of the canopy route and existing landforms.. 5 – Engineering Calculations and Quantification of Activity Influences Engineering: With the data collected in previous phases, structural calculations of the different components of the canopy course will be carried out. These mainly refer to: ‐. . Location, anchoring and platform design. 21 .

(26) ‐. Location, anchoring and design of access areas. ‐. Location, anchoring, length and tension of the cables. Materials Requisition: With the information that has been gathered about the terrain, calculations of the amounts of materials required for the construction of the canopy course will be carried out.. Chronogram of Project Milestones Table 2 – Chronogram of Project Milestones PHASE. EXPECTED DATE. Data Collection Construction. 立. Testing. 08/08/2010 to 09/08/2010 政治大 to 11/29/2010 10/09/2010 11/30/2010 to 12/31/2010. ‧ 國. 學. Beginning of Operation. From 01/01/2011. sit. y. ‧. Nat. Offered Services. er. io. Canopy Taiwan will offer a brand new eco-friendly outdoor adventure that will provide. al. n. iv n C biodiversity, breath-taking views of h Taipei, ancestral hidden e n g c h i U temples and even sample local tea of the highest quality in traditional tea houses. All of these will be possible as a package or. visitors with an adrenaline filled yet educational opportunity to experience Taiwan’s unique. as an individual experience in Taiwan’s first commercial canopy course tour.. Key Success Factors Building a canopy course may appear to be a relatively simple activity; however in most instances this is not the case. Besides pursuing generic building blocks to obtain competitive advantage, a company has to possess distinctive competencies specific to its industry to be able to guarantee the sustainability of its business model. According to Ziplines.com12, a reputable zipline consulting business, in order to produce a respectable return on investment a                                                          12 www.ziplines.com . . 22 .

(27) zipline should be located in what is known as a “sweet spot”. A location can earn this classification if it meets one of the two following criteria: 1) The location is conveniently located along a major tourist route, or 2) Near a major population centre (such as a big city) where the socioeconomic level and age of the citizens is compatible with adventure sports or adventure tourism. This business plan’s recommended decisions are strategically optimized to meet and take advantage of both of the previously mentioned conditions.. Location. 政治大. The canopy course entrance will be conveniently located at a short distance from the Maokong Gondola station, which means that visitors simply need to take the Taipei Zoo. 立. gondola, and after enjoying a few minutes of one of the most beautiful views of Taipei, they. ‧ 國. 學. will find themselves atop of the refreshing Maokong Mountains. The exit of the canopy course will be situated in between the Taipei Zoo MRT station and the Maokong Gondola. ‧. entrance close to Taipei Zoo, which is an ideal exit location that will allow the canopy course tour visitors to indulge themselves with fancy food at any of the restaurants that form the Zoo. y. Nat. sit. Mall. Alternatively, they can visit the Zoo, or simply take the MRT to their next destination,. n. al. er. io. all thanks to this very centric location.. Ch. i Un. v. The decision to locate the canopy course in Maokong meets both conditions required for a. engchi. “sweet spot”, since the closeness to the Taipei Zoo and access through the Maokong Gondola guarantee a steady flow of existing tourists when the canopy begins its operation. Additionally, Maokong is located in the Muzha neighbourhood in Wenshan district, one of the twelve districts forming Taipei city. Wenshan district has a population of 260,41213 people, with a total of 2.7 million people in Taipei city. Wenshan has the fourth largest population out of the twelve districts that make up Taipei city, and besides the two renown attractions mentioned before, other notable attractions in the surrounding area include the Jingmei night market, Xianji Rock, the Examination Yuan and National Chengchi University. The mountains in Wenshan are ideal for mountain biking, mountain climbing, trekking, mountaineering, and a variety of adventures sports practiced by professionals, fans and even                                                          13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_of_Taipei_by_population . . 23 .

(28) students. Because it is easily accessible through the Taipei zoo MRT station as well as many bus routes, Wenshan receives a high number of visitors everyday, but especially during weekends and holidays. Owing to these features, people in transiting Wenshan are more likely to be adventure sports practitioners, students, and/or tourists. As we will later discuss in the customer segmentation section of this plan, this is an ideal match between the desired target market and the target market that makes up the area.. The Taiwan Canopy Course Tour The canopy course will offer a unique way to “zip” down from the top of the Maokong tourist. 政治大. region to the Taipei Zoo Muzha area, through almost 4 kilometres of the most secure zip-line cable connected by seven strategically located platforms (refer to table 3). Visitors will be. 立. able to choose from taking the whole length of the canopy tour, or only a few selected. ‧ 國. 學. platforms. To enhance their experience, the canopy tour will also offer short tour packages and expeditions that will take advantage of the tourist sites located close to each platform.. ‧. Also, because of the closeness to the Maokong Gondola, beginners or tourists who don’t have enough time available to complete the whole canopy course can easily get off at designated. y. Nat. sit. platforms and walk to MRT Gondola stations to continue their way down using the gondola. al. er. io. services. This is a differentiating factor that will grant this canopy a great degree of flexibility. n. compared to most canopy courses established around the world.. Ch. engchi. i Un. Table 3 – Canopy Course Tour Platforms and Distances. . 24 . v.

(29) Canopy Course Tour- Business As Usual (BAU) Operation Plan 1) Welcome to our canopy course tour Canopy course tourists will be invited to a set up area at the entrance of the canopy; this area will be designed to accommodate a group of approximately twenty people simultaneously. Once there, the visitors will be welcomed by a trained guide who will explain to them the concept of zip-lining, display for them the safety and related equipment that is required to do the activity, and show them the canopy route and tour packages available. In the interest of order, in this section we will address the zip-lining part of the service and we will cover the tour packages in the following section. However, it’s worthwhile emphasizing that visitors. 政治大. will be able to select packages that combine zip-lining and touring activities, or simply choose to zip-line or take a tour.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. Picture 1 -An ideal Setup Area. . 25 . i Un. v.

(30) 2) Demonstration In this same area, we will set up a small-scale zip-line with a cable no longer than 7 meters, attached to two small floor level platforms and poles. Once the visitors are comfortably seated, a guide will demonstrate how to wear the equipment correctly, and then he/she will climb to one of the demonstrational platforms and hook himself unto the zip-line cable explaining to his/her audience every step of the procedure. Next the guide will glide on the cable until being suspended in the middle of the demonstrational zip-line. Once there, the guide will explain to the audience what is the right position to adopt once they are in the cable as well as the necessary breaking techniques.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Picture 2 -Guides performing a demonstration for visitors. 3) Introduction to the Canopy Course Tour and course package selection The set-up area will have a large map showing the route of the canopy. The guide will explain to the tourist group the packages available through different routes and their pricing.. 4) Fitting the Safety Equipment on Tourists Once a package has been selected, a guide will withdraw the necessary number of equipment from the storage area and lay it in an orderly fashion with a 1-meter separation between each customer’s safety equipment. Next, the guide will invite each tourist to stand in front of each. . 26 .

(31) set of safety equipment, and two guides will help each customer fit the equipment until the whole group is prepared. 5) Personal Security Equipment14 A typical visitor’s set of equipment will include: -1 Professional level adjustable size zip-line body harness -3 Security lanyards - 4 Climber Carabiners -1 pair of thick Purpose-Built Leather Gloves -1 Cable Trolley. 立. 政治大. 6) Canopy Course Tour beginning – Platform and Participant Preparation. ‧ 國. 學. An ideal number of guides will be assigned according to the number of participants. The first guide will hook unto the cable and slide to the next platform, checking the condition of the. ‧. platforms on his/her way. Upon arriving to the next immediate platform, the guide will unhook from the cable and secure himself unto the platform as he waits to receive the coming. y. Nat. sit. tourists. Another guide on the entrance platform will check, instruct, and help to hook each of. al. er. io. the participants to the cable, one by one and according to an established security checklist.. n. Before connecting each participant to the cable, the guide will make a reminder of the most. Ch. i Un. v. important instructions. Next, the guide will install the trolley to the cable, the body harness. engchi. lanyard to the carabiner, and immediately the carabiner assembly to the trolley. Following this, the guide will hook the visitor’s backup security lanyard to the cable. The guide will then instruct the visitor to suspend himself/herself to the harness and using the communication equipment will notify the guide waiting on the next immediate platform to be ready to receive the first participant. The guide will then let go of the trolley and the participant will slide away to platform 1 of the canopy course..                                                          14 Images of the operating & required safety equipment are displayed in Appendix A . . 27 .

(32) 7) The Platforms Platform 1 The first zip-line will have a length of approximately 354 meters and will reach platform 1, located close to Dachen Hall. The guide waiting on platform 1 will receive the tourist and help him/her to the platform. Once on the platform the guide will unhook the visitor’s security lanyard from the main cable and hook it to a security cable installed in each of the platforms. The platform’s security cable will be of the same type used throughout the canopy course, and for security reasons it will be tied to the tree independently from the platform. Next the guide unhooks the lanyard hooked to the trolley allowing the visitor to move freely around the. 政治大. platform. The same procedure will be repeated to move to subsequent platforms, until the group reaches the canopy course exit or their desired location in the canopy course.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Platform 2. The second zip-line will have a length of about 980 metres and will reach platform 2, located. ‧. close to the Zhinan Temple. Because of its proximity to the Maokong Gondola station at Zhinan temple, this platform is one of the designated areas where visitors can exit the canopy. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. Platform 3. sit. tour and take the way down to the floor level using the gondola service.. Ch. i Un. v. Once visitors arrive at platform 2, they will unhook from the cable and continue to platform 3. engchi. on foot using existing trails around the Zhinan temple area. The distance from platform 2 to platform 3 is approximately 460 meters, and gives tourists the opportunity to view Zhinan temple at a distance and admire the beauty of the mountain as they walk on this trail.. Platform 4 The third zip-line leads to platform 4, and the length of this cable will be 740 meters. This station is strategically positioned to align the canopy route on a closer direction to the exit while staying on the forest. Aligning the direction of the cable that originates from platform 3 to a more direct direction to the Taipei zoo area would not be possible without the canopy cable passing through a suburban residential construction.. . 28 .

(33) Platform 5 This is the fourth and shortest zip-line in the canopy course. Its cable’s length is about 120 meters, and its intention is also to help align the canopy course to the canopy’s exit.. Platform 6 The canopy course’s fifth cable is also another short one measuring 33 meters in length. This platform is the second designated platform that will allow customers to exit the course and take the Maokong Gondola Taipei Zoo South station, which is at a walking distance.. Platform 7. 政治大. The sixth zip-line is approximately 240 meters in length, and will lead to platform 7, which is. 立. the last platform before the canopy course exit.. ‧ 國. 學. 8) Canopy course exit. ‧. The seventh zip-line leads to the exit of the canopy course. This is also the longest of all the cables since it will be 1.2 kilometres in length. The total cable distance covered at the end of. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. between one hour and a half to 2 hours at an enjoyable pace.. sit. the canopy course will be 3.96 kilometres, and the duration of the whole course is estimated. Ch. Tour services to neighbouring sites. engchi. i Un. v. One of the many advantages of locating in the Maokong area is the large number of unexplored sites through out the whole area. This also represents an area of opportunity because currently there is only one governmental visitor centre in the area, and no competing tour companies. However, there are many sites that most tourists miss because of the lack of awareness and available information. Today, most people associate the Maokong area mainly with teahouses and tea plantations. This could not be farther from the truth. In the following table (table 4) we will list the sites that are close by to each of the canopy platforms, and for which we will offer tour services. Tour services can be selected independently, or as a package in combination with the canopy course tour.. . 29 .

(34) Tourist Sites of Interest by area. Table 4 – Tourist sites of interest by area. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. . Ch. engchi. 30 . i Un. v.

(35) The Canopy Course Route15. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Illustration 3 – Conceptual Canopy Course Route                                                          15 For illustrative purposes only, overlay of the canopy route, platforms and legend using the Maokong Gondola Route Map. All rights are property of TRTC. The TRTC Maokong Gondola route map is non‐privileged information publicly available at http://web.trtc.com.tw/img/gondola/GondolaDME9607.pdf . . 31 .

(36) Pricing The Canopy Course Route & Pricing Canopy Taiwan will follow industry practices and charge a standard price that will cover the costs for safety equipment usage and the cost for zip-lining through the full canopy course one time, guided by specialized guides. The duration of the canopy course tour considering the total length of the circuit will be approximately two hours.. To determine the correct price for the canopy it was necessary to consider various factors. The first factor was the maximum price that the main market segment would be willing to pay.. 治政大less than NT$10,000 or less than approximately 30% of adventure sports enthusiasts spend 立 A reasonable assumption would be to aim to obtain ten to US$307 on recreational activities. According to the customer profile built from Tien-Chich Hsieh’s doctoral level dissertation,. ‧ 國. 學. 15 percent of this value. To help further define adequate pricing, benchmarking was conducted on prices charged in Costa Rica for equivalent canopy courses. The reason why. ‧. Costa Rican canopy course prices were used for benchmarking is that they are generally considered the most competitive courses in the world. Benchmarking results are shown in. sit. y. Nat. table 5, shown next:. n. al. er. io. Table 5 – Benchmarked prices for Costa Rican Canopy Courses. . Ch. engchi. 32 . i Un. v.

(37) Benchmarking results indicate that prices charged by an equivalent canopy course with a two hours tour duration is US$35. This price is also in agreement with our initial assumption of obtaining approximately 10 to 15 percent of the NT$10,000 (US$307) of expenditures allocated by adventure sport participants. After conducting a price sensitivity analysis (Appendix I) at various possible prices, it was found that a price of NT$1,100 or US$35 would yield revenues of approximately $55,440 a month assuming maximum operational capacity with three tour groups leaving every half an hour for the first year of operation (refer to Appendix H). Finally, after completing the business’ incremental earnings forecast, we simulated the effects of various possible prices on the expected net income. Once again,. 政治大. pricing the service at US$35 resulted in a positive net income when using a sales forecast that considers a very conservative 10% penetration of the target market.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. The course is completed going through seven strategically located interconnecting platforms between the starting platform and the ending platform, with a total cable length of 3.96. ‧. kilometres (refer to table 2). Should visitors wish so, they have the option of terminating their tour without reaching the canopy exit at Taipei Zoo level by exiting at platforms 3 and 6 (P3. y. Nat. sit. and P6) of the canopy course. These platforms are located close to gondola stations so that. al. er. io. visitors can take gondola rides up or down at their discretion, but without any partial. n. reimbursements from the full amount paid for the service. This practice is an industry. Ch. standard performed at all canopy courses.. engchi. i Un. v. Memberships Our market research has yielded information supporting that a sizeable proportion of the target market is characterized by having a greater skill level, which in turn translates in a desire for a higher engagement of the activity. Put simply, these customers like to perform their adventure sports more than six times a month. Customers included in this bracket are more likely to spend higher amounts of money (over NT$100,000) in purchasing their own equipment, so there is an opportunity to offer them access the canopy course without offering them safety equipment and guides. This can be achieved by offering them yearly memberships priced at NT$9,900 or US$310. The membership would grant them access to. . 33 .