Tourism

Film festivals across the world are gaining acceptance and importance in attracting tourist at organising destination. There are various film festivals that are being promoted as the festival of particular destination like Dubai Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Santa Barbara Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival and many others. These film festivals are lucrative opportunity for the organisers, destination managers and Government to promote the tourism. This paper covers various aspects of Dubai International Film Festival and its impact on tourism.

Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue for Dubai apart from its natural oil resources. The visionary leadership helped Dubai to diversify from its traditional oil business to other businesses. Dubai is known as one of the best shopping destinations in the world. Its strategic location, advance and developed infrastructure and strong political system have helped it to establish itself as one of the ten most visited places in the world.

Dubai has also gained importance as an event destination in the recent past. There are various national and international events organised in UAE and majority of these take place in Dubai. These events can be from sports to film festivals. Dubai International film festival is the biggest film festivals in the Middle East that covers Arab cinema and provides a platform for the growth of the tourism industry (Dubai International Film Festival, 2010).

The festival gets coverage in international and nation media. This becomes one of the reasons for people visiting the Dubai during the events. The festival has different entertainment value in terms of the programs and performances organised during the festival. The official website of DIFF (2010) claims that
 Now in its seventh year, DIFF has established itself as a major international festival, while continuing to serve as a premier showcase event for Arab cinema, and contributing to the development and growth of the regional industry.

According to Kirchner, director of the UK and Ireland representative office of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said Dubai maintains its position as a leader within the region by demonstrating the ability to successfully diversify its economy whilst sustaining consistent growth(Dubai Tourism Growth Increasing, 2007).

This paper covers various aspects of DIFF with respect of tourism industry. The environmental analysis of the social, economical, technical, political and legal aspects allows understanding the business environment for DIFF. On the other hand strategic analysis of DIFF helps in identifying the opportunities where this event can leverage on and the areas where it needs to improve.

Impact of DIFF on Tourism
This event started taking place from the year of 2001, and established itself as a leading film festival in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. This also impacted the growth of tourism during the festival by increasing the growth rate of national profit, investments to achieve the short term to long term improvements (The Impact of Tourism in Dubai, 2010).

The festival has left an indelible impression on its guests, industry professionals and viewers, through its events, workshops, seminars and principal mandate of presenting the finest selection of cinema from all over the world. DIFF is a frontrunner in promoting better cultural understanding through creative achievements in film. (DIFF, 2010)
               
During the Dubai International Film Festival the commercial activities across the industries and sector increases. It provides lucrative opportunities for the hotel and leisure businesses. Dubai is a shopping heaven for millions. This adds to the decision of people to visiting Dubai during these film festivals. According to Jones (n.d.)

Thomson Holidays in the UK, more than 80 per cent of Britons plan their holidays after seeing a location on the big screen. One in five admits to having made a pilgrimage to a destination theyve seen on film, with New Zealand (the Lord Of The Rings trilogy), the Greek island of-Cephalonia (Captain Corellis Mandolin), Thailand (The Beach), Malta (Troy) and Kenya (Out of Africa) topping the list of vacation spots inspired by a trip to the local multiplex, or an evening in with a DVD.

Tourists see it as a multiple opportunity i.e. they can visit the film festival, see their favourite actors, actresses, directors, musicians and other professionals, enjoy the landscape and local attractions of the place and do shopping.  From the air ticket purchase for arrival to departure of the guest, every economic activity contributes to the GDP.  The tourism business has significantly increased the number of visitors who wants to see the Dubai international film festival (DIFF, 2010).

Other Tourism Attractions

Tourist Attractions
There are two faces of Dubai  old Dubai which has a glorious past, with its ancient mosques and old markets and modern Dubai includes sleek architecture, towering skyscrapers and beautiful artificial islands.
             
The tourist attractions include the Dubai museum, visit landmarks like clock tower or port Rashid, camel racing etc. Shopping is the main attraction for tourists.    Government of Dubai is known for its promptness to preserve its environment and make it more beautiful and attractive. Even though, Dubai is situated in the extreme climatic conditions with days very hot, the plantations, cleanliness and overall presentation of the city has been focus for Dubai government. Several green initiatives are recently disclosed by the government of Dubai include the green building strategy and new ecological developments across the Dubai for the environmental sustainability. This is the result of increase in growth of the tourism industry (Sulayem, 2008).

It is estimated that 50 of the worlds cranes are at work inDubaion projects worth 100bn (twice the World Banks estimate for reconstructing Iraq). On the Jumeirah Palm, the Trump Hotel  Tower are a prestigious addition to the portfolio, due for completion in 2009. The 330-room, 25-storey Ritz-CarltonDubaiand the Armani HotelDubaiin the BurjDubaiTower, are due in 2008. The worlds first underwater hotel is well underway and due to open this year (the project will cover 27 acres of seabed). (Wells, 2007)

The shopping festivals organised by Dubai government and around 40 themed based malls is Dubai give the feeling of shopping paradise to the shoppers. There are many souks and boutiques that enhance the consumer experience. Dubaiis also positioning itself as a centre for medicaltourism by offering world-class facilities and luxurious surroundings. TheDubaiHealth Care City was inaugurated in 2003 was developed at a cost of 4.1bn. This attracts patients from across the world (Wells, 2007).

The Dubai Government is taking various initiatives in order to make the tourism more attractive and give tourist a wonderful experience that can create word of mouth and attract the re-visits. There are various offers, special schemes, discounted rates of travel and lodging services and other benefits offered to the visitors.

SLEPT Analysis

Social Factors
Dubai is an Arabic speaking and probably the most advance countries of the Gulf region. The population of Dubai consist of nearly eighty percent of the non nationals. Majority of those are Asian, particularly Indians (nearly 42). The non-nationals are mainly the migrant workers or people who have gone for better earning opportunity. Despite of the fact that Dubai is an Islamic country, people enjoy considerable freedom in terms of clothing and lifestyle. The western influence is affluent here. The society consists of strong joint and nuclear family. The Arabs trust their family members and networks first for business and any kind of commercial activity. The etiquettes are very important in the social culture of Dubai.

Political Factors
Dubai is has the constitutional Monarchy. The strong political system of Dubai and visionary leadership has been one of the prime reasons of the robust growth in the social and economic areas. From commercial to healthcare services, government has been improving to provide world-class services to all its inhabitants and visitors. UAE is a member of United Nations, The Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council.

Economic Factors
UAE has strong economy and economic growth. The recession has hit its real state, financial and tourism sectors. However, country has recovered from it effectively due to strong financial reserves and appropriate policies. According to Dorr(2007). Economy Dubai is the second-wealthiest emirate. The 1966 discovery of oil led to rapid economic growth, which was wisely invested in infrastructure for other industries, such as trade and tourism. In 2005, only six percent of Dubais gross domestic product came from oil sources. Free trade and tax-free zones have sparked a boom in foreign business and real estate. The emirate is also clearly staking its claim in the tourism market, hoping its nearly six million visitors in 2006 will jump to 15 million by 2010, making it the top vacation destination in the Middle East.

Dubai is one of the costliest cities in the world. The cost and standard of living is high in Dubai.
Legal Factors
The legal system gives equal treatment to all irrespective of nationality or ethnicity. Laws and rules are strictly followed and implemented. This is the reason for low crime rates and corruption problems. The quality of product labelled and sold can not mismatch as the consequences on the shopkeepers can be as high as removing them from the business. This helps in ensuring what is available to be sold is up to the quality.

Technological Factors
Dubai has advance technological environment. From the internet city to the metro network, the use of advance technology is prevalent every aspect of business and society. According to the BBC (2010) news, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is known for its opulent seven-star hotels, tall buildings and shopping centres symbolic of a society driven by aspiration.

The technological improvements can be experienced with every experience of tourist from improving guest experience and their loyalty records, use of RFID, use IT system to generate revenues, maximising internal operations through cutting-edge technologies and integrating green technologies to benefit the bottom line, organising conferences and seminars, organising events and many other crucial activities of tourism (Etn, 2009).

SWOT Analysis
Strength                                                                                                                                                       The policies are favourable. Dubai is more known for its commercial benefits than the natural landscapes.
The development of the tourism sector explores the economy of Dubai by the improvement of the infrastructure in the country. Dubai has huge investments in the areas, especially on roads, airports and the construction of metro etc. (The Impact of Tourism in Dubai, 2010
Dubai is also gifted with coastline, beaches and various landscapes where the more variety of activities can be done.

The countrys traditional sports like falconry, camel racing has a strong attraction for tourists. Tourism in Dubai is an important part of the Dubai governments strategy to maintain the flow of foreign currency into the emirate. In 2004 the UAEs GDP was US105.2 billion. Economists calculate the 2005 real GDP growth rate at 8.2 percent, with GDP exceeding US132 billion.

The Film tourism adds other attraction to Dubai. The event is advertised and communicated through various medium. The international stars become attraction for millions of tourist during the film festival.

Weakness
There is no such major weakness for Dubai Tourism industry and the Film festival event.
Dubaiis often accused of looking like a building site but if so, it is the biggest and boldest in the world. (Wells, 2007)

Dubai has been criticised for being consumerist society, discrimination to the Asian workers and different standards of treatments to workers from Asia and developing countries and to the developed countries like USA, UK, Germany and others.

Dubai film festival is seen as an extension to the same.

Opportunities
Dubai international film festival provides a good opportunity to the tourism industry. People love to watch their celebrities and have look of the glamour world they see on the screen. This creates a lucrative opportunity for the Dubai Tourism. On the other hand, this provides an opportunity to promote the country on the international platform. There are various packages and special deals on travelling, hotels and restaurants services available to the guest. People can purchase the lowest fare tickets and book hotel for their stay to attend the film festival held in Dubai.

Threat
The unfortunate environmental trends can affect the travel business. In the recent past the threats from the terrorism organisations have increased. Any negative incidence in the film festival will bring negative publicity to Dubai as well. However, the security of the Dubai makes it a safe destination.

Discussion
The position of the Dubai is the leading tourism destination and commercial hub in the world. The policies and strategies of the Dubai tourism government is to strong the economy of Dubai through
The development of the maintain tourism
To give the unique experience to the visitors which include quality service and spend their money in a safe environment
To offer modern promotions of Dubai commerce and tourism opportunities
The further development of the partnership with our industry stakeholders. (Sulayem, 2010)
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and Government of Dubai to operate the management system in accordance with ISO90012008, ISO14001 2004 and OHSAS18001 2007.

Its aim is to fully satisfy their customers requirement, provide safe and friendly environment at workplace to their employees, contractors, visitors and other interested parties to meet all relevant laws and regulations to achieve the goals of the tourism. (Sulayem, 2010)
             
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has two main responsibilities. One is to promote the international Dubais commerce and tourism interest and the second aim is as the principal authority for planning, supervision and development of the tourism sector in Dubai. (Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, 2008)

Figure 1 Countries participated in Dubai Film Festival

Source Official Website Dubai Film Festival
The Dubai government should organise this festival every year so that numbers of film stars and thousands of viewers are visited there to enjoy the film festival and other traditional culture of Dubai. People enjoy the traditional culture of Dubai during this film festival. It helps the business of tourism a lot. In 2008, Dubai alone received more than seven million hotel guests with hotels boasting 84 percent occupancy rates - the highest in the world, (Sulayem, Bin, 2008). Over 120 airlines serve Dubai international airport flying to more than 200 destinations, 34 million passengers used the airport in 2007 accounting for 27 percent of the air traffic in Middle East and Africa, he said. With hotels set to increase to 500 by 2015, the growth in room numbers from 47,000 hotels and total apartments to triple in 2015 including the world biggest hotel project, the Al Bawadi project.

The film festival brings good opportunity for the tourism sector as well as the overall economy. This opportunity is created by the organisers.

Recommendation
Dubai Film Festival is a professionally organised event where in different departments and organisations participate. The net worth of this festival is high. It offers a sustainable growth opportunity for the country. Therefore the significance of the DIFF is growing with the time.

The government should aim at leveraging on this particular event in all possible ways. There are various cultural activities and events organised with the DIFF. There are certain areas of DIFF should be focused. These are as follows

Marketing and promotions
The clarity of message and information is needed. There are three types of communication goals for the DIFF. First is to inform target audience and create awareness regarding the event, the second objective is to remind people regarding the event and third is to help them with information of taking action in favour of attending the event. The communication process and plan can be set with the help of the same.

Financial aspects
Discounts, offers and schemes during the festival can promote the sale of goods and services. Consumers should get the feeling of getting value for their money.

Operations
The process of participating or attending event should be hassle free or least hassles. Information centres should be created where people can get information easily regarding various queries from direction help to the restaurant services information. People involve in guest service should be given adequate training in guest welcome and language trainings should be given.

Transportation
The transportation facilities should be well maintained and easily available.

Feedback system
A proper feedback mechanism can help in improving the tourism services and enhance overall consumer experience.

Each and every requirement of the customer should be professionally handled and entire experience from air tickets, visas, travel insurance, foreign exchange or any other special assistance should be planned well ahead. All brochures and presentable material are well organised and well produced. They behave with their customers in a good manner and courtesy. These kinds of steps have to be taken to increase the business of tourism.

Conclusion
The Dubai Film Festival provides excellent opportunities for tourism industry. The business accomplish on the basis of mutual understanding, trust and personal relationships. It is very important to build on these to increase the growth of the business. The DIFF offers lucrative opportunity to the tourism sector. From the planning to the post event process, tourism sector should maintain the interactivity with client by providing excellent service and feedbacks on their experience. This will help keeping level of services high and increase the consumer loyalty and positive word of mouth. Dubai has a competitive advantage over other tourist destinations as it has tourist attractions, natural landscapes, beaches as well as shopping avenues which is a very good package for any tourist.

Tourism serves multiple goals for a country. One, it enables people from other countries to experience the cultures and heritage of another country, thereby indirectly fostering harmonization of human relations. On the other hand, countries benefit economically from tourism due to the spend realized when foreigners visit that country. However, in some cases tourism can be blamed for the destruction of cultural heritages by fueling rampant development and foreign investment and control. In some cases, tourism can be constrictive to the people who actually live there, preventing them from advancing in an effort to retain what tourists find exotic about the culture.

In Peru, negative impacts of tourism have been observed in terms of the preservation of the Peruvian culture. Tourism contributes about 7 of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, making it the third largest industry. Peru is a heir to ancient cultures and a rich colonial tradition. The country has been described as a magical spot where some of the richest biodiversities of Earth are found.  In addition, the country is a melting pot of different cultures that are forging the promise of a better future (David 2005). Cultural tourism plays a big role in Peru where pre-Columbian civilization and colonial architecture are the main attractions.

Fragile destinations such as Perus cultural and biological treasures can generate negative environmental, social and cultural impacts (Stephen 1). National heritage is a matter of collective and individual success of a country and should be conserved with gusto knowing that this is an individual country achievement. Tourists tend to come up with new cultural practices when they visit a country and may influence on the culture negatively. Stroma observes that differences in values, perceptions, attitudes and priorities in Peru are some of the contributing factors of cultural conflicts (191). She adds that tourism has brought about some changes due to contact with different people (Stroma 18). Education and curiosity of humans has led to what is now can be describe as cultural tourism in Peru. Wallerstein (2000) shows how tourism has brought about cultural development in 21 st century. It has brought about attention to rapidity and restlessness of change and shifting power relations in Peru (Melanie 4). Cultural tourism has also led to times of interconnected and apparently intractable moments of contestation. This relativism and essentialism among Peru communities creates a major challenge in the reconciliation and truth (Melanie 4) especially when expressing ones past in the present time. According to Alexander et al (2004) culture traumas leave indelible marks on their group consciousness, memories and identity, which can be both solidifying and disruptive, but rarely unanimous.

However, cultural tourism in Peru has developed the notion of acceptance of responsibility in terms of interpretation and representation of events. Tourism has also brought about globalization of new media, technology and regenerative creative industries in the economy of Peru .This has led to change of the ways the village inhabitants handles issues at hand. According to Sheller and Urry (2004), playful places that have immerged in Peru due to technology have different mobilizations of memories and emotions. As Turner and Roject note, tourism has led to democratization of mobility, whereby the virtue of frequent travel, has almost become a citizenship right in Peru. Melanie notes that communities are mobile like their culture .Cultural theorists notes that tourism in Peru has deteriorated and groups have began occupying the borderlands (7).

As Meethan (2001) states cultures and societies are not passive recipients of tourism, but are sites of contestation and resistance. According to Melanie post colonial discourse observes that loss of indigenous cultures is loss to the entire countrys history and heritage. The Peruvian government marks culture as heritage, and to mark cognitive environment as fossils, thus are very important. Unfortunately, cultural tourism is affecting indigenous and neo colonial traditions in Peru. In Peru, established notions of culture as loci of symbolic power and elitist expressions have had a good impact on the existence local communities in Peru, but is breaking away and moving towards more inclusive, democratic and experimental interpretations (Melanie 8).The nature of the tourists that experience the culture themselves contributes to this change.

According to Melanie, destinations, people and cultures are experienced by tourists and not just gazed upon.
observing tourists spends considerable less time in formalized cultural settings as gallaries,museums and historic buildings......indeed tourists spend large time walking around and watching people and in the process observing and encountering aspects of the hosts culture in the form of everyday practices and behaviors(8).
     
In Peru popular activities as going to a park or a club and eating chicken and chips has been transformed into special activities of many overseas tourists (Melanie 8).Ordinarily the activities are authentic in themselves and are very close to the Peru culture, but are slowly being threatened with extintion.Other forms of new culture are being created. This shows that culture changes in relation to the market, and since Peru has a ready and fast growing market, it translates to a rapid culture change. Tourism has led to transformation of cultural landscape in Peru. According to Melanie, the canvas of culture has broadened and become more accessible and creative (8). Accordingly cultural tourism has increased pluralism, democracy and social inclusion(Butcher, 2005).There has been increased relativism among Peru locals where new creative forms of cultural practices has been developed leading to a narrow representation of early human cultural practices (Melanie 8).This has also led to decline of cultural development standards.
   
Cultural tourism shares the spaces that are borrowed from other functions and symbolic uses. Catherine Kelly discusses heritage tourism development in contested political spaces of Peru arguing that confrontation of tourists with dissonant heritage sites in politically sensitive locations may interfere with multiple cultures and identities. Redevelopment of conserved areas in Peru into national museums and heritage attraction for tourism, has led to creation of tension between local development projects, conservation and the elitism of these sites and its visitors which are viewed as interfering with old social divisions (Melanie 8).She adds that social history in Peru is generally under played by such projects and this creates looming conflicts that are evidenced in national heritage developments and local social implications. Barbara Marciszewska says that national tourism is moving from more culture and heritage to cultural activities. This is evident in Peru where most of the locals are low income earners thus limiting their ability to consume culturally and thus increase the demand for new touristic experiences. Lack of support by the Peru government to fund cultural development projects has just led to acceleration of this and decline of necessary links to tourism policy(Melanie 9).The people of Peru  experience culture as their own way of life and this is what they deem they can relate to, though existence  different environment(Melanie 8).Theres is need to promote cultural ways because it recognizes the realities of cultural change and different forms of creativity, and the overall importance of tourism(Melanie 8). Therefore all the tourism is cultural in some sense.
       
Tourism needs to be assessed in accordance with existing global, regional and local conditions of social, political and economic realities (Mill and Morrison 1998). In fact Parker (2000) speaks of multi-dimensional and interdependent problem domains with respect to management of tourism. David adds that
Not only are the conditions that influence tourism almost always in a state of flux, the extent to which they permeate   communities also fluctuates. Consequently, the economic and social context within which tourism is situated shifts considerably, and governments may find themselves, often through no fault of their own, addressing  yesterdays problems. Nonetheless, given the extent to which tourism is manifested in the Caribbean, and because many island states rely heavily upon it for economic growth, there exist substantive issues that can indeed be addressed (287).

Theres need for the government to get involved in promoting tourism as stated by the degree of Wilkinson in Chapter 5, that government involvement is a question of active versus passive involvement. Government involvement in tourism should be focused in the sense whether a country like Peru is aiming at attracting large numbers of tourists, creating a high aggregate level of expenditure, and affecting its culture adversely (288).As Poon (1988) argues, the future of the Peru tourism will be based on innovation and the regions ability to adapt to changes in key generating markets. Elsewhere, Poon adds that the decision ultimately needs to be made over the extent to which tourism becomes fatalistic. Promotion of heritage tourism as Weaver, states in Chapter 10 is at least an attempt of normalizing mass tourism while focusing on culture issues. However, David adds that concentration of tourists in one place or in a country tends to be culturally sensitive (288). Negative effects of tourism seem to be amplified in islands environments (Widfeldt, 1996).There need to balance quantity and quality of tourists in Peru, especially around the island regions.

Theres need to maintain a sustainable tourism sector because it contributes to the GDP growth of Peru (David, 288), but also considering the effects such a sector would impact on the economy and culture as well. Ioannides and Holcomb notes that its important for destinations to adopt a policy framework that treats tourism not in isolation but as an integral component of the entire development process (45). These will create a uniform sustainable approach to tourism development in the broader cultural context, because there will be  various different dynamic nature of community cultural responses (Dogan 1989).Peru should adopt sustainable forms of tourisms that empower communities in order to ultimately reflect community values as critical in the long run (David 288).
   
Much of Peru depends on tourism as the mainstay of its economy but concentration on tourism may lead to a decline in other sectors of economy, and this may affect the overall output of the economy. Such a country should employ the act strong intra-regional competition since it boosts the country as favorite tourist destination. According to David, Perus image as an ideal destination for sun, sand and sea may continue to appeal in market because of rampant marketing by other sectors of the government (293).This can benefit its economy through increased annual tourist income, enhanced linkages between tourism and other sectors of economy and increased employment opportunities. The role of tourism is thus certainly important enough to warrant a considerable future attention by local governments (McDavid and Ramajeesingh, 2003) and most important  the scope of tourism development, the extent to which it can fit with other economic sectors of economy and the degree to which impacts can be managed in future (David 296).With a critical analysis of tourism, countries as Peru can succeed in carefully integrating and professionally managing  tourism plans, that is linked to a realistic regulatory and tax economy , while managing and maintaining its culture and heritage , increasing its tourism subsidies  and managing other stagnant economies (David 297).

Italy is one of the top travel destinations, in Europe. With its coastline beaches, beautiful islands, alpine mountains and lakes, and its central location, visitors enjoy Italy for its country-side, as well as its culture.

Italys official name is Republica Italiana (Italian Republic). Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula, located on the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by the Lugurian Sea, the Sardinian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, Sicilian and Ionian Sea on the south, and Adriatic Sea on the east side. Italy shares borderlines with the countries of France, Switzerland, Australia, and Slovenia.

A majority of Italy is mountains, Alps, and highland countryside. The Alps Alps stretch from east to west along Italys northern boundary, and the Apennines Apennines stretch southward the length of the peninsula.

The total area of Italy is 116,346, a little larger than Arizona, and has an estimated 2009 population of 60,325,000. The country has a variety of ethnic groups, including Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south). The main language is Italian, although German is spoken closer to the borders, and the capital is Rome. The euro is the main monetary unit in Italy. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, and the leader for their government is the Prime Minister.

The climate, in Italy, is considered Mediterranean, with cooler climates near the mountains, and dry, hot temperatures, in southern Italy. The weather in Italy varies, depending on the distance from the coastline or mountains, and the season. Winter is very cold, in the Alps, and the coastline is mild and warmer. The summers, near the coastline, are hot and dry, with the Alpine summer temperatures being cool, yet comfortable. There are some specific cautions and hazards in Italy that include flooding, earthquakes, mudflows and landslides, avalanches and volcanic eruptions.

Tourism is one of Italys major industries. Italys 2009 economy was derived from three basic areas industry (25), services (72.9), and agriculture (2.1). Throughout Italy, there are excellent resorts and hotel facilities, to accommodate the summer tourist season, the snow-bound guests, in the Alps, and holiday visitors, during spring and autumn. Italy is only six hours ahead of the United States Eastern Standard Time, and daylight saving time is observed from March to October.

Italy has a rich history that contributes to its huge success in the tourism industry. The country has always struggled to maintain neutrality, within Europe, and allied with other countries to become stronger and more stable. Currently, Italys problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, high unemployment, sluggish economy, with low incomes and underdeveloped technologies. Nevertheless, Italy has enjoyed being the fourth highest tourist earner, in the world, with more than 43.7 million tourists a year. Tourism is the fastest growing industry, in Italy, earning 42.7 billion, a year that allows even working-class families to enjoy an Italian holiday, along the coastline and mountainside. Italy is divided into Regions that include Northern Italy, Northeast Italy, Central Italy, Southern Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Within each region are towns, where tourists can experience the rich culture and history of each area. Each area has something special that draws tourists, in any season, from all over the world. There are a variety of hotels in each region, rated from 1-7 stars, depending on the number of rooms and number of beds, in the hotel. Italy has some of the worlds oldest, historic hotels that add to the authenticity of Italys tourism experience.

Although there are hundreds of cities, in Italy. Some of the most famous cities in Italy are Rome, the capital Bologna, full of history, culture, and technologies Florence, known for its architecture and art Genoa, a very wealthy city, with art and architecture Milan, a fashion, import, trade and business city of the world Naples, a historic city with ancient ruins Pisa, home of the famous leaning Tower of Pisa Turin, the first capital of Italy and a famous industrial and automobile city and Venice, full of beauty, art, and history. The cities in Italy are centrally located, so tourists can easily travel from each different location, per their preference. National parks and the Alps are popular tourist attractions, for those tourists who enjoy the outdoors. Italy has national parks throughout the entire country.

Traveling to Italy is very easy. If you are traveling by airplane, you can fly Italys national airline, Lufthansa. Many airlines connect the European countries, as well. Tourists, who enjoy traveling by train, are able to board the many connections between the surrounding European countries. Traveling by car is also an option, with neighboring countries welcoming tourists. Whether you are going to the beaches, visiting the vineyards, cycling, sailing, shopping, people watching, or just enjoying the central locations of their restaurants and night life, Italy has it all, within a short distance of each activity.

Life in Italy is dedicated to modern Italian life and culture - showcasing the Italy of today, rather than focusing on Italys past. Life in Italy is a place where expats, Italian-Americans, travelers or any Italophile can learn about the very latest from Italy. The water is drinkable, in Italy, and Italy can be traveled on a budget. Seasoned travelers know they should carry the phone number of their embassy with them, while traveling. Italy is known for being warm and welcoming, so as long as you respect the country and the people.

The number of arrivals decreases by 4 in 2009 to reach 38 million. The good winter skiing season partially compensates for the loss of tourists in summer 2009 due to the international financial crisis. The number of arrivals is expected to be stagnant over the forecast period due to a slow recovery from the crisis and to competition from other European countries. Due to the high number of German tourists visiting Italy every year, Germany remained the highest inbound country in terms of spending. In 2009, German tourists in Italy spent EUR6.7 billion. The US was ranked second with tourist expenditure reaching EUR6.5 billion, an increase of 3 boosted by the US dollars recovery against the euro.

Whether you are in Italy for business or pleasure, traveling by airplane or automobile, staying in a leisure resort or an outdoor campsite, Italy is the country that has everything you need and everything you have ever wanted. Italy will be the top tourist destination among European countries for American tourists in 2010-2011, according to a market study by US tour operators. Some trade magazines such as Travel Leisure, Cond Nast Traveler, and Recommend have assigned numerous awards to Italy Rome, Florence and Venice as the top European destinations the Aeolian Islands as the top European islands and Italy as the top European destination.

Dear Ms Client
In response to your ad that appeared in the Financial Times Newspaper, I wish on behalf of the Tidal Consultancies, to tend in the consultancys proposal to offer the four week services. Within this proposal, I have clearly outlined the scope of our services along side the business terms and conditions of contraction. With due regard to your robust performance in the hospitality industry, I, on behalf of the company, wish to assure you of our above board consultancies services.

It is evident from your submissions in the newspaper that you have the least room for compromised standards. In view of this, this consultancy firm will provide expertise consultancy in all the spheres along the hospitality industry, based on the capacity of your very stable firm. The consultancy services will include, though not restricted to, the following services

Market feasibilities traversing bounds of sales to exploration of expansion possibilities
In-depth analysis of the customer acquisition chain of the hotel
The long term and sustainable prospects of retaining the available customers
Review the market dynamics, subjecting the market to the ever-changing needs of the hospitality industry
Design elaborate development plan based on the feasibility outcomes
Develop an elaborate work plan for the implementation of the developed marketing and sales strategies for a period of three years
Develop a three year development financial plan with expended considerations of the present economic downturn
Take active part in the stakeholders meeting and development an alternative approach to meeting procedure and strategy
Provide adequate and relevant proposals for development in the management of TQ M and CRM policies
The consultancy will be very comprehensive and elaborate in the aforementioned cardinal components of management presenting the firms all-inclusive approach. We, as a firm, believe in result oriented feasibility and viability analysis and there is the least room for unattended to business. The firm will inculcate your inherent needs with your tentative and long-term need with expended zeal and grandeur.

Phase One
Scope
The consultancy team will meet your esteemed management members. During the meeting, the team will gather sufficient information concerning the areas of concern of the firm. In addition, the team will seek to understand the management chain of the firm this will be tidal in understanding of the management dynamics and challenges if any, of the firm. During the meeting the following information will be of paramount importance to the team of consultants
Previous consultancy reports
Progressive five year financial reports
Departmental meeting deliberation and minutes
Five year financial reports
Market research reports if any
The present year marketing plan of the firm

As a consultancy firm we do expect that the records of the hotel will be presented in the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotel as was promulgated by the organization of hotels in the United States of America. The consultancy team will however, take it upon itself to update these records subject to review of the per diem of the team.  

Preliminary Market Research
The consultancy team will undertake a one week market research such as will inform its consultancy prospects. This will provide the team with sufficient information on the market niche, the market demand and the subsequent market supply. Meanwhile, the team will take time to visit the departments of the hotel to familiarize itself for ease of consultancy recommendations. Subsequent, the team will analyze the hotels details on occupancy.

Phase Two
Analysis of the Premises
The team in the second phase will undertake a detailed analysis of hotel premises. In particular, the team will take particular interest in the competitive advantage of the business, accessibility of the business and any competitive disadvantages. Each section of the premise will be looked at in utter seclusions to explore the possibilities of effective utilization. The team will then apportion the possible uses of the premises, giving options where there would be some need.

It is of equal paramount importance that the hotel understands the dynamics of business within the new area of establishment. A thorough analysis of the area will be undertaken to unveil the future demand projections. Subsequent, the team will make projections on the possible future economic activities, giving them a direct link to the future prospects of the business.  The national database will be utilized alongside the collected information from the hotels books to find tangible reasons for recommended course, if any.

Primary Research
The consultancy will then undertake primary market research to establish the likelihood of market expansion within the vicinity. The projected demand of the hotel services will be of central importance, besides the availability of the services that are in short supply such as lodging facilities.

Experts on economic growth will be dully utilized to give projections on the possible economic growth of the area. This will inform the group in making decisions on the projection of the future demand. In particular, the vital information collected during the research will include, but not limited to the following

Local administrators
Hotel proprietors
Interest feature managers e.g. the local forest officers and game wardens
During the research the market mix in use by operating chains will be collected, market segmentation, average rates of occupancy and the going on rate of the hotel services. The commonly served beverage and foods will also be key components of the teams research.

The team will, forthwith, prepare a supply and demand estimates table that will inform income and expenditure projections. Similarly, the team will develop a projected demand curve over the years and possible factors that would affect the demand and supply over the period

Estimation of Revenues and Expenditure
It has been already indicated that the team will use the collected data to project the demand. Subsequently, the demand will determine the prices and the subsequent revenue outlays. The team will give a three year revenue inflow projection subjecting all the values to a deflator.

The final report
The team will prepare and present to the management a final report that will give detailed methodology, analysis and a conclusive outlook of the business over the years. Presumably, the report presented would be utilized fully by the hotel to seek loans towards the development of the proposed infrastructure.

Phase Three
Valuation Counseling
Having been given this tidal task, we will take it upon ourselves to see the objectives of the consultancy report driven to the fullest attainment. We will pensively take a very passive yet visible role in the monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the firm. The central benchmark will be the teams projection.

Professional Fees
The team will charge the following fees with due respect to the various feasibility components. The overall costs will be
Phase one 12000, 2.0 weeks
Phase two  9000, 1.5 weeks
Phase three  6000, 1.5 weeks

However we wish to point out that should the hotel feel it needs to have the entire consultancy done at once the costs would considerable come down from a total  24000 to 21000.

Like in the feasibility study, we will expect to be reimbursed the out of pocket expenses incurred during the period. In the event of termination of the consultancy assignment, you will compensate the team to that point.

Acceptance
Kindly sign the enclosed copy of this proposal if your feel the details are satisfactory and please send it over to us. In addition, you should send us the retainer. Please this will act as an authorization for the scheduling of the commencement of the work.

If there is an area of concern that can be clarified, dont hesitate to seek the clarification. We earnestly present the proposal to you and look forward to being given considerations.

The tourism and hospitality industry currently proves to be one of the most lucrative business ventures across the globe. This can be attributed to various factors such as effective transport networks especially that of airlines, communication where internet has been uses as a tool for marketing and advertisement.

Traditionally hospitality and tourism focused only on provision of accommodation services and transport but now it has become more diverse where entertainment services, food and beverage casinos etc. Currently most animal conservation areas like national parks and private conservancies are fighting with the issue of increased lodges and hotel construction as more are being put up threatening the soundness of the wildlife habitants in those areas. At the same time, meetings, convections and special events places are all part of the hospitality industry.

According to economic watch, hospitality industries can be put under two categories, the first one is entertainment areas like clubs, bars and second is accommodation. Hare accommodation is taken to be inform of resorts, lodges, motels etc while clubs and bars are fast-food joints, restaurants etc.
There is a close relationship between hospitality and tourism where activities like airline cabin, and travel agents are also in the hospitality industry.

Tourism often involves moving from one place of residence to another for leisure and enjoyment purposes. One can choose to stay in a hotel or motel. Here there are various types of hotels i.e. ones that offer full services like beds, shops within their premises such as gift boutiques, newsstands, access to laundry, swimming pools etc while limited services may just be meals and beverages. At this stage tourism

However the hospitality and tourism industry is impacted greatly by various factors such as economic factors where by setting up of hotel facilities and equipments is increasingly becoming expensive by day due to high cost of raw materials like bricks and cement, timber etc. this makes the construction cost high and limits the returns in such business apart from just inhibiting more players in this field. Hence, small scale entrepreneurs may not benefit much due to these economic challenges as compared to already established multinational players who dominate these markets.

 The economy of super power nations like United States and other European nations also greatly affects the tourism and hospitality industry. The recession experienced saw very few luxurious visits leading to low business activities around these industries and loss of jobs. Slow recovery from the recession continues to bi9te into these industries. This is aggravated by the fact that most of the ravels from such countries to others especially in Africa are mainly leisure based and not business oriented.

The economic status of the people forces them to be very cautious as to where they spend their money. When the financial status is good for the people, they tend to spend more on luxury as compared to hard economic times when they have to spend less.

Alina and Dallas (2007) and Baum et al (1997) observe that tourism and hospitality businesses are very vulnerable to demand fluctuation over various seasons in the year. These demand fluctuations are caused by institutional or environmental forces hence one can predict when the demand will be high or low. This allows or businesses, lenders and investors to anticipate many seasonal impacts.

The diversity of tourist attractions allows for many tourism and hospitality businesses to remain on the cutting edge. The bio- physical environment greatly impacts the plight of tourism activities in countries such as Kenya where impacts of climate change negatively affected this industry.  The socio-political factors also plays key role in hospitality and tourism business. Kenya recorded heavy losses in this industry when it was hit by the post election violence that threatened to tear the country into parts.

Mckercher (1993) notes that tourism as an industrial activity consumes resources, creates wastes and has specific infrastructural needs. This implies that tourism and hospitality impacts on the environment in terms of inputs needed to start and run it. As such apart from impacting by its consumption, the cultures of where such tourism and hospitality activities take place greatly determine such activities. The trade of ornaments, indigenous foods served may serve as a tourist attraction activity but it may also be a factor to be considered in the setting up of a tourism and hospitality business.

Bases on the above argument, it can be said that tourism and hospitality business activities are some of the most dynamic ventures globally. The technology innovation transfer has made it easy for this industry to grow and it is one of the top earners in the economies of many countries. There is a dominance of the private players in this sector as opposed to the government involvement. In some countries like Poland, season changes do not affect the business activities. However, in some countries like Kenya there is a seasonal flow where in certain times of the year more tourists are received when it is peak and hotels have to be booked earlier to even get a space. There are also times when the off-peak is experienced and low tourism activities are recorded.

Cruise Tourism has been one of the fast growing Tourism segments over the past few decades. Its demand and supply are more concentrated in North America, with Caribbean as the most important destination.
However, in the recent years Europe and to a lesser extent Asia and the Pacific have been growing rapidly on this direction. (Kester J.G.C, Tourism Economics, Volume 9.Number 3, 1 Sep 2003, pp337-350(14).In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tourism officials has high hopes on the cruise ship industry as it looks forward to diversifying its economy.

With the sparing of UAE cruise ship from the global economic miseries facing the tourism industry, its said to be doing well in passenger traffic along with other benefits from its local economy. Still on developing the tourism industry in the UAE, an Italian cruise company Costa Cruises intends to open an office in Dubai. (Kippreport.com).With this sector being the fastest growing in the Tourism Industry for the past twenty years, the growth is still expected to continue into the future. The sector has not only improved the economy but has also been of great impact to both environmental and cultural arenas. This has also been found to be important particularly in small island destinations and has made cruise ship tourism to be given more attention as it continues to rule over the Tourism Industry.

The Caribbean region accounts for 50 of the global cruise market. However, the social, economical and environmental impacts of this Industry have been argued out over time. It has been quoted as not being well understood and also undermined in literature or otherwise neglected. Studies on social impacts have been said to be practically nonexistent (Wood, 2000) and little research has been carried out to give out evidence from the port states of the economic impacts of cruise tourism (WTO 2003). ( The Impact of Cruise Ship Tourism on local Economies, Panel CZ 05, Thomas J. Murray, Virginia Institute of Marine Science)

Weaver and Lawton (2006) defined tourism as a sum of processes, outcomes and activities that came about as a result of interactions among many entities while in the process of hosting, transporting, attracting and managing both visitors and tourists.  The entities referred to are tourists, host communities and government, tourism suppliers, universities, NGOs, community colleges and origin governments.

The UNWTO, otherwise referred to as WTO or the United Nations World Tourism Organisation gives another definition of tourism.  According to them, tourism is the activities of people that travel to and stays in locations that are not the usual places or environment they situate in for a period of time not exceeding one year.  Furthermore, the reason for travelling would be for business, leisure and other purposes.

At present, tourism and hospitality are taken as mixture of similar services.  There are even some universities that combine them into a single course.  The two may refer to different sectors in the industry but can be studied and managed as a single entity.  As a general rule however, tourism courses will have graduates working in restaurants, hotels and travel related jobs, e.g., travel agents, tour operators, tour guide, etc.  On the other hand, hospitality course graduates may work in accommodation and catering industries such as hotels, leisure centres, restaurants, etc.

The industry of tourism and hospitality is one of todays growth industries offering millions of jobs all over the world.  It offers a wide array of occupations in varying organizations, offering each candidate a career that is open for continued progress and promotion.

Tourism may be further defined as a movement away from a location of usual residence for a certain period of time that is more than one day but less than a year for a certain purpose such as leisure or business.

Tourism may be further categorised into three, i.e., domestic, inbound and outbound.  Domestic tourism refers to residents of a certain country who travels within the same country.  Inbound tourism refers to non-residents that arrive at a destination country taking that destinations point-of-view.  Lastly, outbound tourism involves the travel of a resident to another country taking the country of origins point of view.

Tourism and hospitality may have different focuses but the two are now taken to be one industry at present.  For instance, to speak of the sectors in tourism is also speaking of the hospitality industry along with tourism.  
Subsequently, these sectors in tourism are actually the business activities that are involved in tourism and hospitality.  Expounding on these areas in tourism is one great proof that this industry is huge and involves the accumulation of billions of dollars for the country.  It will also show how far and wide the tourism and hospitality sector is able to reach.

The tourism industry is divided to eight (8) areas.  The areas are recreation (or adventure tourism), accommodation, events (including conferences), attractions, food and beverages, transportation, travel trade and tourism services.  These eight combined can be considered to be very large and would most probably be linked to most of the industries existing in the market.  An overview of each one will be discussed hereunder.

Accommodation refers to the hotels, motels, inns, lodges, resorts and the like.  This is easily one of the fastest and biggest growing areas in the industry of tourism.  New jobs are constantly created due to the ever growing hotel business and the opportunities for promotion abound.

What falls under recreation and adventure tourism would be the ski resorts, ecotourism spots, outdoor adventure sites, parks, gold facilities, tennis facilities and marine facilities.  Tennis matches in Wimbledon or the US Open are examples of this.  The number of tourists and travellers that are attracted to these kinds of tournaments are really quite surprising.  Such tourism events are quite advantageous to the host country in terms of revenues.  This sector in tourism is also a fast growing one.  The number of tourists who travel to gain uncommon recreational adventures as well as to learn varying cultures from different countries is continuously increasing.

Events and conferences also fall under the industry of tourism.  Conventions, summits, events outside the country, special meetings and events, conferences and trade shows are examples of business related reason for travel.  During times like these, it is the company of the person travelling that pays for all his expenses.  Expenses will include everything, from car rental, to food and drinks and accommodations.  No reason to skimp on money.  This is why the host community will benefit from this greatly.

Attractions refers to amusement parks, heritage homes and sites, zoos, cultural attractions, museums, art galleries, aquariums, botanical gardens and many other tourist spots that are sought after by most tourist when they visit a certain country.  These are usually the places included in travel packages, the locations that the host country is proud to show off to those who do not live in the same area.

The food and beverage industry is one of, if not the biggest earner for the tourism industry.  It encompasses all establishments that offer food and drinks to its consumers, including tourists. This includes among others, fine dining restaurants, fast food, lounges, clubs, pubs, catering companies, food outlets, etc.

The tourism services refers to the associations, agencies in the government, organizations and all other companies whose focus is to serve the needs of the tourism industry in its entirety and not just the needs of travellers, as in travel agencies.  Such services are those offered to people requiring tourism education, researching tourism trend, marketing tourism products, etc.

Transportation, in connection with tourism, refers to the industry that provides movement, enjoyment and comfort to people, particularly tourists and travellers.  The transportation sector of tourism are categorised under water, air, rail and ground transport.  All these facilities make possible the transfer of a tourist from one country or location to another.  While sending of or bringing in tourists, this sector is continuously and steadily earning revenues for its host country.

Lastly is the travel trade which basically supports the sales and bookings made in connection with the other sectors in tourism.  Those engaged in the travel trade make the necessary reservations for tours, events, food and beverages, accommodations, etc.

With the aforementioned sectors briefly defined and expounded, it is very clear how far reaching the industry of hospitality and tourism really is.  This is why it also has great impact on other industries and at the same time is impacted by social, economic, cultural and environmental factors.

It is no secret that the role of tourism services in both the national and international trade and economies are increasing fast.  In fact, the tourism industry has been cited several times as the worlds largest industry with an estimated GDP (gross domestic product) of US2.2 trillion way back 1997 (WTO Focus 2000).  This is how greatly it impacts the economy of its host nation.  This is how important it is to a country that is why the government of most countries who recognize the economic advantages the tourism and hospitality sector can give them are all out in ensuring the upgrade, modernity and support this industry will need from them.

Basically, the primary motivation any nation has for serving the visitors in their region is economic.  The revenue it gives to businesses and in turn to the government will really go a long way.  Therefore, it would be wise to ensure that tourists will be satisfied with their visit, enjoy their moneys worth and find reason to return.  This can be done by continuously improving the tourism services and supporting companies that provide such services. For instance, the restaurants and the hotels where these guests usually stay during their visits should always be kept clean and the staff should always be able to provide the highest standard of services.  Aside from economic benefits however, the impact it has on the other areas of life is quite detrimental.

Take for instance the environmental and cultural impact tourism has.  Most of the biggest considerations by most of the tourist in choosing the country to visit are the attractions in a certain country.  Of these attractions, what they are interested most are relics of the past, those edifices that has survived the ravages of time and still stand tall.  These relics are part of the culture of a certain country. Aside from these, visitors are also after the picturesque views, mountains and slopes, rare animals, and many other environmental factors that entice them to visit and keep coming back.  All these, the cultural heritage and the environmental attractions that each country has are things that make the tourism industry alive.  It would be quite justified that of the trillions of dollars earned on tourism, a big part will be attributed to the preservations of the mentioned environmental and cultural riches.

In terms of social effects, the prospect of having tourists visit a country allows for its people to develop positive attitudes toward the visitor and vice versa.  In the process, mutual appreciation is developed, understanding and awareness of each others culture, respect and appreciation as well as strong bond and friendship may very well develop.  Psychological satisfaction following such interaction is possible.  Stereotyping and negative perceptions of other cultures can be reduced or totally changed into something positive.  Like and respect would be the common attitude during such interactions.  Even inter-marriages happen.  These are the effects of tourism and hospitality in the social context.

Tourism is indeed one of the worlds largest and continuously developing industries.  In fact, in 2005, UNWTO recorded 808 million arrivals.  The number of those travelling for business keeps on growing.  The United States is now the third top destinations worldwide, with France and Spain being first and second respectively.  At present, 1 of every 12 individuals in this world works in tourism and is fast expanding.  Latest records show that 10 of the worlds income comes from the tourism industry.

However, tourism may only be expected to take its course and earn huge revenues for the country it serves if there is stability.  A country experiencing chaos or war is expected not to receive visitors from another country and it is already easy to assume what that will make for their tourism industry.

The revenues brought about by tourism for its host country is quite astounding, answering for most of its domestic needs including infrastructure development, social and economic development and welfare, balances foreign trade, improve standards of education and facilities, source of foreign exchange, etc.  Much as it has huge benefits however, there can also be negative impacts.  Some cultural and environmental negative effects may be brought about by tourism, e.g., pollution, lack of resources, over-consumption due to mass-tourism, cultural over-development, conflict, assimilation, etc. and those that are hit most by the negative impact are the locals.  However, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.  What would be best is to develop a system that will ensure that both the locals and the visitors will be able to enjoy what the host country has to offer.

The tourism industry of a country can prove to be highly beneficial for the countrys economy. This is the reason why countries try to attract tourists by developing their tourist spots and invest in it. Moreover, countries are needed to market themselves in such a way that their advertisements induce a desire in people throughout the world, to visit and travel around the country. This industry belongs to the service sector of a country and in order to develop the service sector of a country, investments are needed to mainly create attractions for the customers, in this case the potential tourists. (Hill, Michael Kwen Fee Lian, 1995)

Tourism can prove to be very advantageous for the countrys economy as the tourists will just spend their money in the country, providing the country with a source of revenue. The money, hence, can be used to serve multiple purposes, providing the public and the government of the country with positive opportunities. (Bland, 2010)

Not only do the country and the people living in the host country reap economic benefits out of the development of the tourism industry, but at the same time there will be numerous positive effects of other aspects of life, like the peoples social well-being.

Many countries in the world are now promoting their tourism industry, in order to attract tourists. This gives them a strategic advantage and a higher hand in related matters too. Hence, the country becomes more prominent and strong, along with being richer. (Bland, 2010)

In the entire world, countries are competing with each other to get an increased amount of the total market share of the worlds tourists. With countries like France, having Paris with their tourism spot, competing for the market share with all the other smaller countries, it makes the competition even more rigorous. .( E Turbo News, 2010)

Concentrating mainly on the Asian region, the foremost example can be Malaysia, which has been marketing itself as a tourism spot since some time now. And it has been quite successful in its endeavors too. Likewise, there are other countries in the Asian region where influx of tourists are high, for example, Hong Kong, India and Thailand. These countries prove to be a tough competitor for every other country trying to boost its tourism industry.

Hence, many countries have rejuvenated their strategic plans for developing their tourism sector. This revitalization requires a great amount of investment too, but countries are ready to make it. In this list of countries, the vanguard is Singapore. Singapore has been dynamically attempting to attract tourists in order to promote their tourism industry by making huge investments in the tourism sector and is ambitious about attracting the highest number of tourists  the world.

The objective of this report is to mainly focus on the Singaporean strategic planning to attract tourists. The concentration of the reports discussion will be Singapores use of resources in what way have they used up their resources to boost the tourism industry and how effective has it been.

The fore mentioned countries are the toughest competitors of Singapore because of them being in proximity with Singapores land. Thus, Singapore needed to pioneer an idea and concept of such a facility that would readily pull the tourists towards it. Thus, Singapore has been pumping in investments to build the countrys tourism industry.

The major investment and the new signature of tourist attractions are the Integrated Resorts inducted by Singapore. The effectiveness of this ambitious project along with the costs involved in setting the Integrated Resorts will be discussed and analyzed. . (Ministry of trade, 2010)

The issue of Integrated Resorts has been debated largely throughout Singapore and there are many proponents and opponents of this issue. This report will present a critical analysis considering both the sides of the issue, and the justifications portraying the reasons of the standpoints of the subjects opponents and advocates. . (Ministry of trade, 2010)

Singaporean government has been struggling to get a larger market share of the tourists, competing with the other Asian countries like China, India. And with the reinvention of the famous cities of the world, like New York, Paris, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Thailand, it has become even more difficult to attract tourists. But it is a prime time to develop an Asian countrys tourism industry. The reason to this fact is that there is a large captive population in the Asian region. And most importantly, there is high economic developmental activity occurring in the Asian district, with an ever increasing Income level in the economies of different Asian countries and growing middle-class.

Thus, for Singapore, it was a high time to promote its tourism industry. But for this, Singapore needed to have such attractions that would draw the tourists towards it. The line of action to be taken by the Singaporean government and the Singapore Tourism Board had to be multi-pronged.  The main idea put forward was the idea of Integrated Resorts. The resorts were destined to have a collection of high quality leisure and entertainment attractions that could compete with the entire worlds entertainment venues. The resorts were planned to open up at Marina Bay Sands and Sentosa in Singapore, both of which are now operational. The vast variety of leisure facilities and entertainment services has been substantial enough to catch the tourists attention throughout the world. (Lee Kuan Yew ,2000).

The total investment cost of these Integrate resorts is now estimated to be around S14.4 billion, making it one of the most costly in relation to the other facilities of this kind. The investment cost has been increased substantially due to the future prospects. Initially the cost was estimated to be around S10 billion. (Lee Kuan Yew ,2000).

The inclusion of a casino in the resort stirred up a great deal of debate amongst both the government and the publics. Many Muslims and Christians openly opposed this idea as being both religiously and morally erosive for the society. The opponents stance was based upon the fact that they believed legalized gambling can give way to other crimes leading up to organized money laundering. Legalized gambling, they pointed out, also opens up threats of broken families due to heavy losses.

Gambling has been banned in Singapore for more than one and a half century now. The idea of building a casino has been repeatedly rejected by the office holders in the government. But now, on the forefront of the advocates of the Integrated Resorts casinos was the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong.

Although the prime minister was not able to completely deny the fact that the induction of casinos in the society can be injurious, but still in his view of weighing against the economic benefits that the casino would attract, the casino had to be built. The reason he gave was that without the presence of casinos the entertainment resorts would be unable to attract the number of tourists it is intended to attract.
But consecutively, the prime minister also showed his belief in the fact that the relationship between the negative impacts of the society has not yet been confirmed of having a link to gambling by any famous research or study. Moreover, the dialogue sessions were held to discuss this issue with the various stakeholders involved, such as the grassroots leaders, religious groups and business community, to gather their views and suggestions and understand their concerns.

Considering the prospective adverse effects of gambling, measures were devised to minimize the adverse effects of this casino, such as high entrance fees for Singaporeans and prohibition on giving loans from casinos to the locals. Plus people in financial distress would not be allowed to gamble. In addition to these restrictions and precautions, the minimum age set by the government is 21 instead of 18 to avoid the heavy economic and financial crunches in the society due to the rashness of youngster, which is at its peak when they are under 18 (Study of HK Peoples Participation in Gambling Activities 2002, Hong Kong Polytechnic University). Moreover, local public were to be made aware and educated of the harms and risks involved in gambling.

At the same time, the prime minister has also presented the figures of Bellagios, an Integrated Resort in Las Vegas that the 65 of the revenues earned are from non-gaming components such as dining, retail and entertainment.

Furthermore, the mass media promotion and advertisement of gambling within Singapore was to be restricted.

The Prime ministers vision of the Integrated Resorts not only includes a casino, but hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, theatres, museums, convention space. At the moment, The Resorts World Sentosa is a host to Universal Studio theme park, Oceanarium Marine Life Park, Equarius Water Park, Maritime museum and Espa wellness Sanctuary. It has a total number of 6 hotels comprising of the rooms around1800. While the attractions at Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resorts include Art  science museum, two theatres, High end retail and SkyPark. It has 3 hotels with the intended capacity around 2600.

The two resorts are somehow different from each other in specifications. The resort world at Sentosa was to be built by Genting Singapore. It had proposed Asias first Universal Studio theme park as well as a water park, the worlds largest oceanarium, a sanctuary and a maritime museum. It is intended to have six hotels, retail space and MICE facilities. While the resort at Marina Bay has been built by Las Vegas Sands(House on a hill, 2010)

It has been observed that there has been a substantial increase in the number of tourists poring in Singapore, due to its establishment of the Integrated Resorts. Recent statistics show that Indonesia, China, Australia, UK, and Malaysia have been the top sources of tourists coming to Singapore. It has been forecasted that in 11.5 to 12.5 million visitors would enter Singapore in 2010 and S12.6  S13.3 billion worth tourism receipts would be earned. But the desired target of the Singapore Tourist Board, for the two casinos is to attract 17 million visitors by the end of 2015. The average spending of a tourist in Singapore is now more than S1400, which can contribute significantly to the countrys GDP. (House on a hill, 2010)

The Integrated Resorts have also proved to be fruitful for the local public of Singapore too. More than 20,000 jobs have been created as the Integrated Resorts came into being. Moreover, the local related industries like hotels, airlines, retail and property have been able to reap profits due to the introduction of Integrated Resorts, and they will keep on doing so in the near future. (CLSA, 2009)

There are other long-term prospects and advantages regarding the future of the tourism industry of Singapore, with the use of its Integrated Resorts

There exists a large population base that can be captivated by the tourism industry of Singapore. Talking about South-East Asia only, there are a total number of 568 million people who are living in such proximity with Singapore that they can reach there in just about three hours. (CLSA, 2009)

The income levels of the Asian people are rising in general. An estimate by MasterCard tells us that the income levels of the Asian people will increase by more than fifty percent.

In addition to all this, Singapore also offers a great financial opportunity with just 15 tax on Grind Play and 5 tax on VIP, while the gaming tax rate in Malaysia floats around 25, and around 39 in Macau. Nonetheless, there will still be a corporate tax of 18 in Singapore as compared to its non existence in Macau on these revenues. (CLSA, 2009)

Along with the casinos being added to the tourism industry of Singapore, the government has also tried to set up a National Art Gallery, rejuvenation of Orchard Road and Formula One Grand Prix. Hence, with the government support at its peak, the tourism industry has bright prospects of flourishing.

As Singapore has a reputation of being a travel hub, it is easy to access by all possible routes land, air and sea. The current levels of flights arrival in Singapore is around four thousand five hundred in a week. Moreover, the casinos are near to the airports making them even easier to access. (Eturbo news 2010)

METHODOLOGY

The collection of information is largely done by using the internet as a source. A significant amount of information was gathered regarding the entire tourism industry of Singapore. This helped to form an understanding of the situation of the tourism industry of Singapore, as a whole. It also helped in understanding the background of the condition of Singapores tourism industry in the past.

Subsequently, literature available on the Integrated Resorts specifically, was gathered. The information in the literature helped to explain the overview of what exactly is the Integrated Resort and what does it comprise of. Moreover, the information obtained was also able to give estimates of the costs involved in the project. (King, Rodney 2010)

Furthermore, the issue of opposition against the Integrated Resorts was researched and the standpoints of both the opponents and proponents of this issue were studied. The ideas, reasons and justifications by the both view points are analyzed as well along with studying the fact that how are the opposing public of Singapore convinced and their animosity against the Integrated Resorts is reduced by the prime minister. (King, Rodney 2010)

By using the collected literature, the effectiveness of the new strategies regarding the promotion of the tourism in Singapore, is analyzed. The factors on which the analysis will be based on are the current profitability of the Singapore tourism sector, the cost comparison of the investments against similar types of the world, the probable future outlook and expectations from the industry, and the level of happiness and support exhibited by the people of Singapore for the projects currently.(Singapore statistic 2009)

 Moreover, future prospects of the Singapores tourism industry are discussed, along with providing recommendations of what should be done about this issue.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Interpreting from all the information present in the available literature, it can be comprehended that the government of Singapore has been quite determined to make Singapore the leading tourist attracter of the world.  In its way to achieve the ambitious aim, a novel idea had to be introduced which was to be ground breaking and awe inspiring enough to be able to pull every tourist of the world towards itself.

Amongst the many investments and strategic plans for enhancing the profitability and attraction of the tourism industry of Singapore, the idea which has been discussed the most is the Integrated Resort. Its facilities and huge investment has already caught everyones eyes in the world. Thus, it seems to be on its track of achieving what it was mainly intended for.  The entertainment and leisure facilities are on a world-class standard.

But amongst the lavish facilities and splendid attractions, the centre of discussion has been the casinos. Although not very uncommon in the entire world, the establishment of casinos in Singapore has resulted in the upheaval of contradictory expressions between the public. A great number of people of Singapore oppose the mere idea of casinos as being a vice in a society. Its relationship with the evils of society such as rise in theft, poverty and other social iniquities can not be denied.

Using the authority that the prime minister had, the idea was implemented anyway. The government has not yet been able to achieve consensus or unanimous acceptance of the public on this matter. But its economic benefits have been glamorized to such an extent that now the heat of opposition has subsided.

Till yet no such evident adverse effect has been observed which can prove to that the legalization of gambling in the region has infected the societys health. Hence, the policies of the prime minister seem to be effective till yet. And their strictness and genuine concern for the moral, economic, and cultural well-being for the people of Singapore seems to be well perceived by the public now. There are no prominent instances of opposition in the recent times regarding the concept and viability of the Integrated Resorts.

Even if there are no palpable negative effects yet detected in the society of Singapore, it does not give the assurance that there will not by any in the future too. The fact remains that there is enmity against the use of casinos in the Integrated Resorts on the side of the general public, which is deep-rooted. The blatancy of the opposition has sunk only due to the stunning economical benefits that the resorts are proposed to give in the future. Thus, the matter should be treated with utmost seriousness at all times by the government to make sure that there are not any large-scale negativities arising in the society that could be linked with the gambling in the region.

As far as the promotion of tourism is concerned, the Singapore Trade Board has been very effective in attracting the tourists as we can see a large growth in the tourism sector of the country. The local public also seems to be having a pleasant time with the new signatures of their tourism industry The Integrated Resorts. (Tourism Board 2010)

The assortment of facilities and activities in the Integrated Resorts are very conducive to its success. The Singapore Tourism Board and the government have planned the new strategies of tourism well, covering all its aspects from airline to the core activities to the hotels. The two resorts are also strategically located in the country as well, which gives them a great benefit of being accessible to more people. Moreover, the idea of putting such activities in each resort, which would appeal to their intended market, is a very workable one.

The induction of the Integrated Resorts in Singapore has proven to be serving dual benefits. Not only has it been able to attract substantial number of tourists, it has also been able to provide the local public of Singapore with a hearty experience. Except for the casinos, the local public is allowed to use the facilities as much as the foreign tourists. In fact, forty six percent of the visitors to the two Integrated Resorts are the people living in Singapore.

In addition, the Integrated Resorts have also invigorated the social lives of the people living in Singapore. It has provided them with a marvelous venue for their leisure time and activities. Plus, the economic benefits gained by these Integrated Resorts can not be forgotten. The money coming into Singapore will on one hand make people wealthier and on the other hand, the government and Singapore as a whole, much stronger. Consequently, this money will eventually be used in the economic development raising the standards of living for the people living in Singapore and providing them with additional facilities.(Singapore statistic 2009)

Hence, the economic future of Singapore seems to be very bright as there are further plans in the pipeline that will increase the number of tourists coming to Singapore.

CONCLUSION

Thus, it can be concluded that the development of the tourism and attraction sector of Singapore has posed many challenges for Singapore. Although the idea of Integrated Resorts seems to have been proving itself as a great till now, its future is still uncertain. The economy of Singapore will definitely thrive upon introduction of new forms of entertainment and leisure facilities. But the legalization of gambling in the Singaporean society will have its profound effects on every level of the lives of the people of Singapore be it cultural, social or economic.

Furthermore, the government of Singapore needs to effectively regulate the gambling activities to make sure that the feared negativity does not find the way into the Singaporean society. As well as proper check and balance should be maintained by the STB to make sure that the benefits of the rapid development of the attraction sector is duly harnessed.

Will the restrictive policies of the prime-minister Lee Hsien Loong be effective enough to restrain the adverse effects of gambling Only time can tell that. But on a more positive side for Singapore, it would definitely be eating up the market share of tourists from around the world in the coming years.

Thus, it can be concluded that the development of the tourism and attraction sector of Singapore has posed many challenges for Singapore. Although the idea of Integrated Resorts seems to have been proving itself as a great till now, its future is still uncertain. The economy of Singapore will definitely thrive upon introduction of new forms of entertainment and leisure facilities. But the legalization of gambling in the Singaporean society will have its profound effects on every level of the lives of the people of Singapore be it cultural, social or economic.

Furthermore, the government of Singapore needs to effectively regulate the gambling activities to make sure that the feared negativity does not find the way into the Singaporean society. As well as proper check and balance should be maintained by the STB to make sure that the benefits of the rapid development of the attraction sector is duly harnessed.

Will the restrictive policies of the prime-minister Lee Hsien Loong be effective enough to restrain the adverse effects of gambling Only time can tell that. But on a more positive side for Singapore, it would definitely be eating up the market share of tourists from around the world in the coming years.

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Company  Industry
 Greek Live  Concert Company will be looking to tap the growing entertainment industry in Greece and across the world by  promoting high quality lives concert shows.Located in Athens, Greece, the aim will be to become  profitable by promoting live concert shows and sale of  pre-recorded music.The copyright and license of the shows and the pre-recorded music will be with Greek Live  Concert Company.  Greek Live  Concert Company will be promoting  Internet music and live concert .  Greek Live  Concert Company  considers the above said two revolutions are here to stay , and it will be the best thing to happen in music industry  after album sales.

1.2 Products  Services
 Greek Live  Concert Company will be taking care of variety of music genres like pop, alternative  rock music, jazz music, gospel music, urban music and the company has decided to choose  a variety of  veteran and debuting artist to showcase their talents in live concert shows.

Greek Live  Concert Company will be expanding their brand different from  other companies using an unique marketing and promotional plan.The concert promotion will be done using television, print online and other modes of medium.

Greek Live  Concert Company will be maintaining  strong affiliations in the music industry.The company plan to form  an international music lives concert distribution with any major brand in UK or USA.This will be allowing the company to tap the UK and US markets.The company also plans to tap the Asian markets like China, Japan, India and will be also targeting European markets like Spain, Germany. The company will be tapping the Latin American markets.

1.3 Management
The company will be managed by professionals who has the knowledge of  music industry.The management team will be having the  experience of managing a  team and live event internationally.There would be marketing professionals well versed in  life style marketing.
The company will be recruiting talents that has  the prior experience  in live concerts and Internet music.

2.0 COMPANY SUMMARY

2.1 Company  Industry
Greek Live  Concert Company is a multimedia entertainment company with  specialization in Internet music and live concert.

The vision will  be to provide international consumers a positive audio and visual entertainment using live concert.The vision also include that  quality entertainment will be given to the consumers without compromising on commercial appeal.The mission statement is that  dreams of music consumers will be fulfilled by  The Greek Live  Concert Company.The reason for this mission statement is that the company plans to occupy a distinctive position in peoples lives and be successful in the market place.

The company will be divided into three ancillary divisions   live concert music division, live concert  music video division and live concert music Internet division.The company will be earning additional income through  distribution and video merchandising of live concert shows.There will be also showing of live concert shows through Internet and that will be generating additional income.

2.2 Legal Entity and Ownership
The company will be Incorporated in Athens and will be having  8,00,000 shares of stock.The board of directors will be authorized to issue 4,00,000 common shares.There will be debentures for first and second share offerings.The company will be having only one founder and  the name is Jake Richard.Jake Richard will be having 4,00,000 of common shares.

Jake Richard  will provide the vision of future.He will be responsible for artist development, artist negotiation and stage production.He has considerable experience in entertainment industry and finance and banking areas.He has a reputation for building positive relationship with artists.He has got a good public relationship with concert directors.

2.3 Facilities  Location
Most of live concert shows in the initial years will be centered in Greece.There will be two highly technical studios The live musical concert will be having classical musical concert and ballad musical concert that will be supported by two technical studios.The two technical studios will be offering the artists the full facility needed for  make up and other arrangements.

3.0 Products And Services

3.1 Product Description
The primary thrust of the company will be live musical concert.The company will be undertaking live classical musical concert and international ballads  live concert.There will be divisions  in the company based on the genre of music .There will be a division called  silence under the live concert music division.The silence division will handle  mainstream pop live musical concert .There will be another division called  trendy .This division will be  handling alternative rock, jazz  in live musical concert show.There will be another division called devotional musical concert show.This division will be promoting inspirational devotional songs.

3.2 Competition
The   Greek Live  Concert Company will be facing competition from  live event management companies.The company will be promoting  live musical concerts of  internationally reputably artists like Madonna and will be also promoting new debut who has exceptional music talent.There will be relentless marketing programs and campaigns to promote the brand in live musical concert shows.The aim will be to create a winning marketing programs and will be used to  market the brand internationally.

3.3 Competitive Edge To The Company
The   Greek Live  Concert Company will be  creating a tie up with professional musicians for live musical show.  The   Greek Live  Concert Company will be entering  tie up with music distribution companies to promote the brand and artists.There will release of at least six  live musical concert in a year and the live musical concert will be covering various genres.

The  Greek Live  Concert Company will be creating a barrier to competitors by making step to undertake  a special division that will be assessing the new talents.

4.0 Market Analysis Summary

4.1 Market Size
The market will be growing thanks to the Internet revolution.There has been digital network that has been dedicated to the  downloading of live musical concert shows.The growth of Internet TV  has helped the growth of live musical concert shows  as these shows has become more accessible through TV.There has been growth in mobile technology and that will be boosting the live show of concert musical shows.All these revolutions has meant that live musical shows shown in Athens can be watched from any part globally at the same time.This will be ensuring more revenue to the company in form of sponsorship revenue.

The demand for live concert shows has been increasing due to the increased popularity of  artists.The artist has been  in limelight to various music channels like MTV and V channel that has been shown globally.
There has been  a wide spread popularity of  artist in Internet due to video sharing in You Tube and other forms.The live musical concert  can be sold once again in a reformatted manner of album sales.There has been digital distribution which has helped to increase the popularity  new artist which will be exploited by The Greek Live  Concert Company.

5.0 Strategy  Implementation

5.1 Product Development
The basic purpose of any  business will be to create new customers and retain the existing customers.This will be done by The  Greek Live  Concert Company by monitoring the changes that are happening at the market place.Promotional activity will be working best when it connects with potential customers.  Greek Live  Concert Company has understood the value of technological revolution particularly communication revolution.There will be promotion  using online technological advancement likes  blog and buzz marketing.
Consumers taste and preferences will be changing very fast in this global world.The consumer will be bombarded with promotion of live concert musical shows and it will be available through  various  news channels.

5.2 Internet Strategy
Greek Live  Concert Company has understood the value of technological revolution particularly communication revolution.There will be promotion  using online technological advancement likes  blog and buzz marketing  (Kelly 2007).There will be usage of web advertising that will be helping the direct interaction with the client (Janoschka 2004).The aim of the web advertising will be to enthrall the customer.There will be usage of tracking method to understand the preferences of consumers who are interested in music live shows.The online advertising will be delivered at any time of the day and there will be more usage of English in the ad.There will be pop up ad and sponsorship ads that will be used by the company to promote the product.

The most common Web 2.0 tool is blog (Solomon Schrum  2007) and there will be a forum that will be attracting the views of the consumers.There will be editorial constraint in expressing opinions in the forums  and any racial comments and vulgar comments will be immediately deleted .The blog will be both internal and external in the company Website.

Internet will be used for buzz marketing the company programs.The company mission and vision will be available in the popular social networks line Twitter and Facebook.The Website of the company will be offering the e-mail service, personal Website service and  chat groups.There is another concept likes mobile advertising.The sms will be used extensively to promote the brand and company programs.

5.3 Marketing Strategy
The main aim of the marketing strategy will be to get the right message across to the right target group.The market segmentation of the live musical concert show will be done first.There will be proper demographic study of the consumer.The target group will be met with effective marketing communication strategy and there will be a department for that purpose.

There will be celebrity advertising as  a  celebrity live musical concert show.A  celebrity is a person who is having high credentials and would be commanding a high degree of attention from the public.The aim for this is that celebrity will be having a high attention grabbing power.The celebrity will be considered as the spoke person of the company.Celebrity should be having the main  4Ps like the passion for music, perfection in show and music, pragmatism and overall power of youth (Walker 2003).Moreover the celebrity should be iconic, style conscious and cutting across sexes.Celebrities will be considered as brand building tools  and there will be marketing strategy with new music players also.

5.4 Sales Strategy
The marketing and promotion budget will be considering  the timing of live musical concert show.For example if a celebrity live musical concert show  has to take place in six  months, the marketing and promotion will be evenly distributed throughout the six  months and the last one month there will be more  advertising.The  live musical show will be also introducing new comers and there will be more extensive campaigns showcasing their talent.There will be media exposure  through print, radio , television and online Internet.

5.5 Tactical Alliances
There will be alliance with  major musical companies to promote the live musical shows.There will be talks with numerous record labels spread in Greece and other European  record labels.

5.6 Operations of the company
There will be vice presidents for each divisions and they will be responsible for that division.There will be separate marketingsales division, artist development, Artist relation division for the company.There will be a creative service division for the company.

6.0 Financial Plan

6.1 Income Statement Projections
Most of the income is expected to come from live concert show ticket sales  and sponsorship.There will be additional  revenue using Internet streaming and  sales of  cds of live musical concert shows.Sale of live musical concert show  through i tunes and other retailers, merchandise revenue.

The company will be having a cash balance for nine months to meet any unforeseen contingencies.The company plan to earn 20 million in cash and other assets.

6.2 Goals of the company
The aim of the company will be to build a profitable ,reputable entertainment company that will be stable through the years.The aim will be to have monthly positive cash flow within six months .The company will be starting from end of June 2010.