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Pacific rim tourism
Tourism Management, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 243-244, 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain 0261-5177/97 $17.00+0.00
Pergamon
Reports 1st International Yield Management Conference 'Strategies for Revenue Optimisation' 5-6 September, Walton Hall, Warwickshire, UK Over ninety people met at Walton Hall set in the picturesque English midlands to learn and discuss more about 'the tool that gets you there'. The conference was co-sponsored by the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Arts; Napier University Edinburgh and the Northern Territory University, Australia. A pleasing and productive aspect was that over half the attendees were practitioners. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the conference were when academic solutions and practical applications came together such as in excellent presentations by Breffni Noone from Dublin Institute (Enhancing Yield Management with customer profitability analysis), and Donaghy/McMahon-Beatte/McDowell (University of Ulster) (The impact of Yield Management upon the Hotel Manager). Yield management (YM) still tends to be shrouded in mystery, and its implementation is a threat to many employees. This could be because YM is perceived as a complex and expensive process, which requires a computer to process data, and that its implementation might lead to organisational change. Several papers discussed implementation issues and ways to ease its path into the management culture of the hotel. Some papers also showed the continuing tendency for room prices to be set not by a strict financial model, but a mixture of driven market forces. (Halcrow, K., 'An investigation into r o o m price discounting' and Peters S. and Reilly J., 'Development in Yield Management at the Hilton National, Warwick'). There was also discussion, both in the formal and informal arena, of whether YM was just a tool to aid decision making or was it actually a process which could replace some more traditional approaches to management of the hospitality enter-
prise. Whatever the outcome of that debate, the conference certainly emphasised the holistic effect of a good YM system on the hotel, and the strategic role of the Rooms Division
in determining the client mix and profitability. Conferences totally focussed on hospitality issues are relatively rare, it was refreshing and enlightening to be part of the examination and discussion of a small but vital section of the business of hospitality, and to witness the evolution of YM from tactic to strategy.
Paul Reynolds Associate ProfessorHospitality Management School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Southern Cross University Coifs Harbour, NSW 2457 Australia
Pacific Rim tourism The Centre for Tourism Studies Waiariki Polytechnic hosted a conference 'Pacific Rim Tourism 2000 - - issues, interrelationships, inhibitors' from 3-6 November (1996), in their home city, Rotorua, New Zealand. The conference brought together 100 researchers and academics from 15 countries, including some significant keynote speakers. The conference was convened by Dr Martin Oppermann of Waiariki Polytechnic's, Centre for Tourism. David Simmons reports on the conference. Much tourism development around the Pacific Rim is premised on notions of eco-tourism. It was fitting, therefore, that Professor Dick Butler provided the conference keynote paper in which he examined the history and evolution of this concept. Since the term was first coined in the
243
early 1980s definitions have become more elaborate and complex. From an early focus on nature oriented activities, more recent definitions have been broadened to include elements of economic (particularly local community) return, the presence of an educational element, and most
Reports recently biocentric views on the management of impacts. Implicit in this evolution has been a move from descriptive to more complex prescriptive definitions. The results are that both the definition and practice of eco-tourism are virtually impossible to effect. Thus Butler concluded that eco-tourism could no longer do (if indeed it ever could!) all that we require of it. To have utility, eco-tourism must fit within wider conceptualisations of tourism and contribute to sustainable development. To Butler, 'too high ideals and unrealistic hopes' must give way to pragmatic programmes that recognise the need for controls and regulation. A wide range of papers were presented in general conference sessions. As is often the case not all were focussed directly on the conference theme. Notwithstanding, there were reports of research into a number of aspects of Pacific Rim destinations: vietnam (King, Nguyen); Cambodia (Lain); Hong Kong (Heung and Wong, Mok and Lam); Sarawak (Zeppel); Korea (Cross, Gaitau, Simi, Warner); and Pacific Island nations (Burridge and Milne, Harrison). Other common themes included nature based (Moulin, Braithwaite and Reynolds) and eco-tourism (Nolan and Nolan, Lew, Ding and Pigram), cultural tourism products and management (Yiping and Butler), as well as macro level issues (eg GATS and emerging destinations (Cooper)) and marketing practice. The needs for appropriate local consultation, cross-cultural understanding (Berno, Simmons) and 'indigenisation' of tourism development (Kadir Din) are important issues that become overarching concerns throughout the conference. As would be expected a number of papers focussed on aspects of tourism development in New Zealand. A number of papers addressed the growth and development of tourism in smaller regions and communities (East Coast, (Simpson); Rotorua (Ateljevic)) and wilderness perceptions and use (Kearsley, Higham). Among these papers 'Sex tourism in New Zealand: What do Kiwi prosti-
244
tutes have to say about it?' (Hanson) brought some considerable local publicity to the conference. Headlines on national news and local print media reported a full spectrum of moral out-rage - - that also resulted in a television documentary the following week - - while polytechnic and academic chiefs were left defending rights to academic freedom! While the Pacific Rim encompasses a great diversity of geographic and cultural forms, and levels of tourism development, three common themes emerge from the papers presented. The first, - - finding the necessary research, policies and processes to manage nature based (eco-tourism), relate directly to Butler's keynote paper. As indicated above, the second themes addresses the need for local understanding, participation and empowerment in tourism planning. Finally, a third theme sits between these first two, and represents researchers' and planners' pragmatic attempts to seek ways to integrate product development and marketing strategies, with ecological and cultural resource management. The final plenary session of the conference had been well orchestrated by Oppermann to juxtapose a number of opinion pieces from senior researchers. Each presenter had been requested to focus directly on aspects of pacific rim tourism. C Michael Hall the recently appointed inaugural professor of tourism at New Zealand's Victoria University - - urged participants to consider the wider geo-political pressures at play around the Pacific Rim - - whereby environmental and cultural issues could be over run in the quest for tourism revenue and rush for development. Valene Smith (Chico, California) prophesised future declines in international travel by North Americans, as such travel was likely to remain beyond the reach of the average purse and thereby hold its luxury status. This she attributed to raising internal, and external debt (and concomitant servicing charges), and charging consumption and social trends. Zimmerman (Klagenfurt, Austria) and Harrison (Univ. South Pacific,
-
-
Suva/Fiji) advanced regional and local themes. Examining the 'cycles of tourism development in Europe' Zimmerman noted increasing pressures to strengthen indigenous development in peripheral areas - - brought about both by the increasingly dispersed nature of tourism flows and current European Union policy to assist regional economies. Comparing two resort developments in Fiji (Mana Island and Levuka) Harrison reiterated the significance of not just local participation but of the "establishment of trust' as an essential ingredient in success. However, in Fiji underlying issues of ethnicity, culture, modernity and globalization add extra tensions to the way tourism is developed and promoted. Contemporary political and constitutional debate in Fiji also provide an important contextual element to the challenging relationship between cultural definition and tourism development. Finally, included within the conference programme was a most useful workshop session for 'writers (to) meet editors'. Here younger writers, reviewers and editorial board members met to discuss pragmatic steps in paper writing, submission, ease of reviewing and publication. While it would be easy to 'overdo" such sessions it was one of the first times many participants had attended such a session and it was well received, particularly by emerging researchers embarking on their publishing careers. The conference also allowed Oppermann the opportunity to introduce and promote his new quarterly journal Pacific Tourism Review. While no immediate plans are proposed for a continuation of this conference as a theme or series, Oppermann remains hopeful that institutions in other destinations will continue the focus on this important tourism region.
David Simmons Department of Human and Leisure Sciences Lincoln University New Zealand
Pergamon
Reports 1st International Yield Management Conference 'Strategies for Revenue Optimisation' 5-6 September, Walton Hall, Warwickshire, UK Over ninety people met at Walton Hall set in the picturesque English midlands to learn and discuss more about 'the tool that gets you there'. The conference was co-sponsored by the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Arts; Napier University Edinburgh and the Northern Territory University, Australia. A pleasing and productive aspect was that over half the attendees were practitioners. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the conference were when academic solutions and practical applications came together such as in excellent presentations by Breffni Noone from Dublin Institute (Enhancing Yield Management with customer profitability analysis), and Donaghy/McMahon-Beatte/McDowell (University of Ulster) (The impact of Yield Management upon the Hotel Manager). Yield management (YM) still tends to be shrouded in mystery, and its implementation is a threat to many employees. This could be because YM is perceived as a complex and expensive process, which requires a computer to process data, and that its implementation might lead to organisational change. Several papers discussed implementation issues and ways to ease its path into the management culture of the hotel. Some papers also showed the continuing tendency for room prices to be set not by a strict financial model, but a mixture of driven market forces. (Halcrow, K., 'An investigation into r o o m price discounting' and Peters S. and Reilly J., 'Development in Yield Management at the Hilton National, Warwick'). There was also discussion, both in the formal and informal arena, of whether YM was just a tool to aid decision making or was it actually a process which could replace some more traditional approaches to management of the hospitality enter-
prise. Whatever the outcome of that debate, the conference certainly emphasised the holistic effect of a good YM system on the hotel, and the strategic role of the Rooms Division
in determining the client mix and profitability. Conferences totally focussed on hospitality issues are relatively rare, it was refreshing and enlightening to be part of the examination and discussion of a small but vital section of the business of hospitality, and to witness the evolution of YM from tactic to strategy.
Paul Reynolds Associate ProfessorHospitality Management School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Southern Cross University Coifs Harbour, NSW 2457 Australia
Pacific Rim tourism The Centre for Tourism Studies Waiariki Polytechnic hosted a conference 'Pacific Rim Tourism 2000 - - issues, interrelationships, inhibitors' from 3-6 November (1996), in their home city, Rotorua, New Zealand. The conference brought together 100 researchers and academics from 15 countries, including some significant keynote speakers. The conference was convened by Dr Martin Oppermann of Waiariki Polytechnic's, Centre for Tourism. David Simmons reports on the conference. Much tourism development around the Pacific Rim is premised on notions of eco-tourism. It was fitting, therefore, that Professor Dick Butler provided the conference keynote paper in which he examined the history and evolution of this concept. Since the term was first coined in the
243
early 1980s definitions have become more elaborate and complex. From an early focus on nature oriented activities, more recent definitions have been broadened to include elements of economic (particularly local community) return, the presence of an educational element, and most
Reports recently biocentric views on the management of impacts. Implicit in this evolution has been a move from descriptive to more complex prescriptive definitions. The results are that both the definition and practice of eco-tourism are virtually impossible to effect. Thus Butler concluded that eco-tourism could no longer do (if indeed it ever could!) all that we require of it. To have utility, eco-tourism must fit within wider conceptualisations of tourism and contribute to sustainable development. To Butler, 'too high ideals and unrealistic hopes' must give way to pragmatic programmes that recognise the need for controls and regulation. A wide range of papers were presented in general conference sessions. As is often the case not all were focussed directly on the conference theme. Notwithstanding, there were reports of research into a number of aspects of Pacific Rim destinations: vietnam (King, Nguyen); Cambodia (Lain); Hong Kong (Heung and Wong, Mok and Lam); Sarawak (Zeppel); Korea (Cross, Gaitau, Simi, Warner); and Pacific Island nations (Burridge and Milne, Harrison). Other common themes included nature based (Moulin, Braithwaite and Reynolds) and eco-tourism (Nolan and Nolan, Lew, Ding and Pigram), cultural tourism products and management (Yiping and Butler), as well as macro level issues (eg GATS and emerging destinations (Cooper)) and marketing practice. The needs for appropriate local consultation, cross-cultural understanding (Berno, Simmons) and 'indigenisation' of tourism development (Kadir Din) are important issues that become overarching concerns throughout the conference. As would be expected a number of papers focussed on aspects of tourism development in New Zealand. A number of papers addressed the growth and development of tourism in smaller regions and communities (East Coast, (Simpson); Rotorua (Ateljevic)) and wilderness perceptions and use (Kearsley, Higham). Among these papers 'Sex tourism in New Zealand: What do Kiwi prosti-
244
tutes have to say about it?' (Hanson) brought some considerable local publicity to the conference. Headlines on national news and local print media reported a full spectrum of moral out-rage - - that also resulted in a television documentary the following week - - while polytechnic and academic chiefs were left defending rights to academic freedom! While the Pacific Rim encompasses a great diversity of geographic and cultural forms, and levels of tourism development, three common themes emerge from the papers presented. The first, - - finding the necessary research, policies and processes to manage nature based (eco-tourism), relate directly to Butler's keynote paper. As indicated above, the second themes addresses the need for local understanding, participation and empowerment in tourism planning. Finally, a third theme sits between these first two, and represents researchers' and planners' pragmatic attempts to seek ways to integrate product development and marketing strategies, with ecological and cultural resource management. The final plenary session of the conference had been well orchestrated by Oppermann to juxtapose a number of opinion pieces from senior researchers. Each presenter had been requested to focus directly on aspects of pacific rim tourism. C Michael Hall the recently appointed inaugural professor of tourism at New Zealand's Victoria University - - urged participants to consider the wider geo-political pressures at play around the Pacific Rim - - whereby environmental and cultural issues could be over run in the quest for tourism revenue and rush for development. Valene Smith (Chico, California) prophesised future declines in international travel by North Americans, as such travel was likely to remain beyond the reach of the average purse and thereby hold its luxury status. This she attributed to raising internal, and external debt (and concomitant servicing charges), and charging consumption and social trends. Zimmerman (Klagenfurt, Austria) and Harrison (Univ. South Pacific,
-
-
Suva/Fiji) advanced regional and local themes. Examining the 'cycles of tourism development in Europe' Zimmerman noted increasing pressures to strengthen indigenous development in peripheral areas - - brought about both by the increasingly dispersed nature of tourism flows and current European Union policy to assist regional economies. Comparing two resort developments in Fiji (Mana Island and Levuka) Harrison reiterated the significance of not just local participation but of the "establishment of trust' as an essential ingredient in success. However, in Fiji underlying issues of ethnicity, culture, modernity and globalization add extra tensions to the way tourism is developed and promoted. Contemporary political and constitutional debate in Fiji also provide an important contextual element to the challenging relationship between cultural definition and tourism development. Finally, included within the conference programme was a most useful workshop session for 'writers (to) meet editors'. Here younger writers, reviewers and editorial board members met to discuss pragmatic steps in paper writing, submission, ease of reviewing and publication. While it would be easy to 'overdo" such sessions it was one of the first times many participants had attended such a session and it was well received, particularly by emerging researchers embarking on their publishing careers. The conference also allowed Oppermann the opportunity to introduce and promote his new quarterly journal Pacific Tourism Review. While no immediate plans are proposed for a continuation of this conference as a theme or series, Oppermann remains hopeful that institutions in other destinations will continue the focus on this important tourism region.
David Simmons Department of Human and Leisure Sciences Lincoln University New Zealand