Category: Free Essays

Today, in the world of growing in globalised businesses and the improvement of entertainment industries. Transportations, Accommodations, Venues, Dining and Talents are now in great demand.

In the industries of people serving people, it is one of the most excitement sectors that you can best understand a business model, because it was combined with many different sectors and generated with smaller scale of many operators to build up a big organization that were full of services provided, which named Hospitality!

The Hospitality industry is currently largest businesses among the world, it is also a global, interlocking with deep and complex of supply chain. Today in the record, hospitality industry provides more than 200 million employees in worldwide and the numbers of talents are still growing rapidly and it is in a demand today.

In Singapore, the Hospitality industry remains a key economic driver and Singapore is promoting and building the image and reputation. It is also an essential support in the industry for Singapore’s efforts to constantly remain an attractive lifestyle destination, with the development of the two integrated resorts (Resort World and Marina Bay Sands) and other exciting events and projects such as the making Orchard Road into one of the best shopping town in the world of Asia.

With the positive outlook for this growing industry, it is important for Singapore to continue improving its service competiveness by enhancing excellence service delivery and clients’ satisfaction. The industry needs professionals and talents who would continue to upgrade and improve the industries skills to take up management positions as well as new recruiting team who would be well-qualified to fill the additional jobs created with the growth.

The Recruitment in Hospitality Industry

Having the ambitions and foreseeing the industry in expanding fast, that was what most of the hospitality management are aiming for. With the business constantly growing, the responsibility of the Human Resources team is expected to deliver additional workforce at all sectors and business levels. Furthermore, Human Resources will also be maximizing the capacity of each current workforce team.

In Asia, hotelier used skills and techniques to analyze each individual’s performance, engagement and commitment levels, participation or getting involved in all training and development programs to measure the result in productivity. Linking such ways to determine each organization’s business objectives has provides useful statistics and has been proven highly effective with which senior executive management making the decision.

Human Resources roles is important in the industry, as the blooming in this industry, human resources team needs to focus on their staffing and employees, the roles as service provider in each departments and divisions. With the high demand needed in increasing staffing numbers, looking at this time when the industry’s workforce labor pool is shrinking.

To improve this challenges, first is to identify all possible causes to the challenges and the industry needs to attempt and work with the unions as allies, hopefully to come out with more time, more effective workforce strategies and money to improve the recruitment project and training to educate the politicians so as to impact the governmental economic and immigration policy on the hospitality industry.

The research from Hospitality industry information, I learned that the set of workforce solutions is based on the following priorities such as:

Image : Like other service sectors, hospitality careers are often stereotyped as low-wage and entry-level with little opportunity for advancement. Consequently, qualified workers, especially youth, are unaware the range of hospitality careers available.

Recruitment : Historically the hospitality industry had drawn heavily fm the youth labor pool to meet their workforce needs, but in recent the industry has been left with an insufficient pipeline of new workers to satisfy demand. Faced with a shrinking pipeline or workers, the hospitality industry is increasing its recruitment efforts towards youth and developing targeted strategies for previously untapped labor pools.

Retention : High turnover is a key challenge in the hospitality industry. The restaurant, hotel and lodging sectors have difficulty retaining skilled workers because of the negative image that the industry faces.

Language skills : English proficiency is a key challenge because a large percentage of the hospitality workforce does not speak English as their primary language. Employers seek language training programs that allow workers to effectively perform their job, which includes providing good customer service and understanding safety requirements.

Employability/Soft Skills : Employers have difficulty finding workers who possess basic “soft skills,” which are often a prerequisite for success in a customer service-oriented field.

Consistent training models and skills certifications : The hospitality industry as a whole lacks consistency and portability in their training models and skill certifications. Many employers run their own internal training programs for entry-level workers, which makes it difficult to monitor the content of training and the skills acquired.

Doleta, June 2005
Challenges in Singapore’s Hospitality

The numbers of turnover and shortage rates were frequently highlighted in today’s challenges for Hospitality Industry not only happening in Singapore but globally. It is important to know and understand the issues behind that causes the skills shortage in the workforce.

In today’s Hospitality workforce, it is expected for all organizations to face a similar shortage of available talent at all levels, especially in management and leadership roles in order to continuously leading the operations and teams, mostly it was due to the aggressive expansion strategies in the region. With the high demand and shortage of employees in the hospitality industry it translates into intense competition for many quality graduates. For those fresh graduates deem the unsociable hours and perceived lack of experience and opportunity in the hospitality industry were as unfavorable. Therefore the hospitality industry is losing out to industries such as entrepreneur, human resources, outsourcing or even information technology etc.

Furthermore, there is also growing awareness of an increasing of multi-generational workforce and consequently variances in expectations and values among individuals. Priorities differ especially with the younger generation, the so-called ‘Generation Y’. Markedly different from their senior counterparts, the young place greater emphasis on self-actualization, high expectations of rapid career progression and are willing to change jobs, industries and careers to realize their goal.

Accordingly, methods for employee engagement analysis need to be even more sophisticated. Long term outlooks enable Human Resource managers to predict and plan for specific areas of talent shortfall and to adopt management training programs to prepare for the demands of future growth.

Next to think, which are the areas of shortage talents in Hospitality Industries that were affected? As hospitality was combined with many different sectors and generated with smaller scale of many operators to build up a whole organization, below are the listed out sectors and areas in the hospitality industries.

Front Line operations, talents that have face to face contacts with guest and to handle various general enquires, needs, transaction, dining or organized events and function in the hotels. Beside that, talents also need to have the knowledge of hotel’s facilities and services, guest relation and expectation, tourism-related matter and of cause handling guest arrivals and departures too.

Front Office

Front Desk, Concierge, Cashier, Bell Counter, Butler, Guest Relation Officer, Executive Club and Business Centre. Both Guest Service Centre (Operator) and Housekeeping are the two back end departments that direct support for Front Office.

Food and Beverage

Dining Outlets and Cafe, Banquet, Bar and Lounges, Executive Lounge and Kitchens. For both F&B Reservation Centre & Stewarding they are also under the umbrella of Food & Beverages Division.

Beside the listed sectors, there is also some other back of house Operations that covers the supporting roles to the business.

Human Resources Department, Maintenance and Engineering Department, Events and Sales Department, Marketing & Public Relations Department, Accounting and Finance Department, Purchasing Department, Security Department and etc.

There are so many sectors of division in a hotel, and which are the areas that are really affected and in demand in the industries? Eventually, the shortage came from the Front Line team (both Front office and Food & Beverage). And why is there a shortage?

Below is a article researched from Khaleej Times Online on Manpower shortage biggest challenge to hospitality industry by Zoe Sinclair (Staff Reporter) 4 May 2008

MENA Travel Awards organizer CHA International President Dr Sam Saker estimated staff needs at an average ratio of five staff to one room.

This ratio puts staff needs at more than 50,000 people by 2010 and by 2016 a further 150,000 staff would be needed, he observed.

He, however said that the ratio of staff per room in luxury hotels was likely closer to seven to one. Compounding this is the issue of manpower retention. According to estimates, 20 per cent of staff will stay with their current employer and industry management predicts poaching to dominate staff recruitment.

A report by world hospitality recruitment website Catererglobal.com was launched and surveyed more than 3,000 hospitality professionals across the Asia.

It estimated only 10 per cent of staff would look for career opportunities within their current property.

‘The challenge is to match growth with talent so service levels are maintained. At the same time retaining that talent within the hospitality industry via training and career progression opportunities is essential,’ said Peter Willis, Sales Manager, Catererglobal.com.

‘Hotels must look at what they offer to candidates in terms of salary, benefits, and accommodation in an increasingly competitive landscape, otherwise, the strain on the sector will begin or already beginning to slow down.’

Today, as I am in the sectors of Human Resources Industries, in my company, we did many recruitment campaigns for different industries and mainly for Singaporeans, I realized that Hospitality Industries have been highly active and continuously in hiring. Talking to many Hotels’ Human Resource Officers, they mentions that in today’s employment in the hotel, they can hardly find a replacement or new hire of Singaporean to do the job, the turnovers especially in the front line operations are extremely high and fast. The staffs that are currently supporting the roles are mainly foreigners from Malaysia, China, Vietnam and the numbers of Filipinos are increasing in these industries, only small percentages of Singaporean can be found in today’s front line operations.

Questing where has the Singaporean gone to? I recently did a few career fairs for the fresh graduates in different Polytechnics and we are mainly recruiting for Hospitality Industries. The responses are slow, and I took the opportunity and created a simple survey form for the students in the collage, allowing us to better understand the student’s future choice of careers.

Students are required to tick the industries and the preferred working hours that they are keen in perusing in the future. And the collective of results and industries are shown below: (A sample of the survey form is attached under appendix)

Job Specialization

Looking at the results from the survey, I learned that Hospitality Industries only stands a small percentage of 1.9% out of 3,000 students, of cause 3,000 students is only the 21.4% out of estimated 14,000 graduating Polytechnic students annually.

In the survey, I also added on with the preferred working hours for their job, I realized that today’s students preferred to be off duties during weekends and public holidays as it standing at 45.1%, it is almost half the percentage from the survey, next highest preferred working hours are from 9 to 6pm office hour’s job, which is standing at 43%.

Now, looking at the hospitality industries, most likely is it not possible to have a fixed off days during the weekends, and front line hoteliers are scheduled for shift work like (Morning/ Afternoon/ Midnight shift) – starting from 7am to 5pm, 3pm to 1 am and 11pm to 9am or even a split shift from 10am to 3pm and back to operation again from 6pm to 11pm.

Understanding the hotel’s operation hours, hotels operates 24 hours business, the hoteliers are required to work minimum 198 hours per month (excluding the over time hours) it is about 9 hours per day and 2 days off per week. And very often, hoteliers are expected to do over time after their scheduled timing, especially during the peak period. The overtime hours, can be 2 hours extra or at times, hoteliers have to be prepared to cover the next shift, usually to cover the absentee or last minute shortage to manpower, which can be another 7 to 8 hours more.

Although hoteliers are entitled for 2 days off, but it comes during the weekdays, weekends off only come after the rotation within the team. The busier and peak period in hospitality industries business are during the festive seasons or public holidays, long weekends, school holidays and during the big functions or events happening in Singapore.

Hotel’s Standards Yearly schedule are shown below –
(Peak Period, Events & Festive Season)

In January : New Year’s Day

In February : Asia Aerospace and Chinese New Year

In March : 1 week School Holiday

In April : Good Friday, Easter day and events of World Gourmet Summit

In May : Labor day and Vesak day

In June : 3 weeks of School Holidays

In July : Slow Period

In August : Slow Period (Chinese Ghost Festival), Singapore National Day

In September : 1 week school holiday, Hari Raya Puasa and event of Formula 1

In October : Slow Period

In November : Deepavali and Hari Raya Haji

In December : 1 month of School holiday, Christmas Day and the celebration and countdown of New Year’s Day

Hoteliers besides handling the activities within the country, their main objective is to operate services to Tourist and Guest from Business trip which will happen every 365 days.

Looking at the above surveys and studies of employment for front line hoteliers in Hospitality Industry, I learned that although the environment and atmosphere is a glamorous one. However, looking that living of Singaporean today, I understand why there is a shortage of local’s talents.

I believed that many of the local’s family members or friends are mostly working in the above stated industries, which are the standard office hours from 9am to 6pm operation. Because that is the most preferred working hours that Singaporean can balance their time for work, children, family members and social.

Before, I am also an hotelier, as I do not have any commitment to my family members and I needed a stepping stone for my next step into my career, I chosen hospitality industries. My experience during those 5 years of journey in hospitality industry is the most enjoyable and valuable one. Although, I have missed out many of the fun moment with my family members and friends especially during their weekends and festive sessions, because most of the time, when I am off during the weekdays, they were all working or schooling. And when they are off during the weekends or festive session, there I am working. It is hard for us to spend time together. That is why I can understand why Singaporean has chosen other industries then Hotel industry.

The only main focus for a Singaporean to choose hospitality industry as their professional career, they must be someone that has the PASSION in serving and meeting different various people around the world, because the local has to sacrifice the times with the family members and the love ones. And only people that accepted and understand this service industry will be happy and enjoying working in this sectors. This is also why you can find more foreigners working in hospitality industry because some of them actually paid to come over Singapore to work, with the nature of long working hours in this industry, they have less commitment here then a Singaporean, that is why there are willing to work for a longer hours then any Singaporean.

Working in hospitality industry, everyday, every moment you see smiles smiling at you, you see people servicing people and at the end of the day, the satisfaction is there, and that is what makes the hoteliers enjoying working in the industry.

Succession planning was identified as a key contributor to strategic growth and for the continuation of high quality standards for customer service levels. Employees with a high potential for promotion are monitored, especially in regard to their participation in training and development, which has been determined to be a key indicator of success in upward progression.

The measurement of leadership skills was the subject of intense debate and most organizations are investing in developing these metrics, for early identification of leaders with potential.

Maintaining contact with previous and potential employees has become standard practice among the hoteliers. New approaches to communication, such as blogs, online social networking groups, electronic newsletters and bulletin boards are widely used to maintain contact and remain abreast of this group of potential employees concerns and ideas.

Department of Labor’s employment and training administration is supporting comprehensive partnerships that include employers, the public workforce system, and other entities that have developed innovative approaches that address the workforce needs of business while also effective helping worker find good jobs with good and attractive wages and promising career pathways in the hospitality industry.

In my essay 2, I will be writing about the retention challenges in hospitality industry and I will also provide some positive and effective ideas to improve the matters.

Reference List

Doleta Gov; June 2005, Hospitality Industry Information.

Available at: http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/Indprof/Hospitality .cfm

[Accessed 20 April 2010]

Warren. Bennis, Ph.D. On Becoming a Leader

Forbes top 100; 9 January 2006, Merkel World’s Most Powerful Woman. Available at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,434696,00.html [Accessed 29 November 2009]

Squidoo; 2006. Angela Merkel – the first female chancellor of Germany. Available at: http://www.squidoo.com/angela-merkel [Accessed 29 November 2009]

Tatiana. Serafin. 9 January 2006; The most powerful woman in the world. Available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26426065/ [Accessed 29 November 2009]

Travel China Guide; Empress Wu Zetian. Available at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/tang/emperor_wuzetian.htm [Accessed 9 November 2009]

Biographies; 1996 to 2009. Female Heroes of Asia: China. Available at: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine6.html [Accessed 9 November 2009]

2. History of Festival: Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country and its most of the festivals are originated from religion as well as some local and other festivals too. The Eid ul- Fetr, Eid al -Adha, Hazz Festivals are the most common religious festivals. The Eid ul-Fitr comes after the one month of Ramadan fasting. This month is important because, Allah revealed the first verse of the Quran during this month. The Eid ul-Adha festival comes after the Eid ul-Fetr and this festival continues in Muslim life by the sacrificing of the son of Ibrahim. However, the most of the festival of Romania comes from the local tradition and the exchanged of international culture. The festivals normally occur in the same place and the same day in once a year.

3. Types of Festival: There are many types of festival, serve to meet specific social needs and duties as well as to provide entertainment. These times of celebration offer a sense of belonging for religious, social or geographical groups. Modern festivals that focus on cultural or ethnic topics seek to inform members of their traditions.

4.Comparison and contrast of festivals between two countries:
4.0 Festivals of Saudi Arabia:

4.1 The National Day: The National Day of Saudi Arabia is truly one of the important events among all the festival that holds an important place in the history of Saudi Arabia. It is needed among the most significant events of the 20th century and symbolizes the genesis of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is celebrated on the 23rd of September each year and represents the identity of the nation and is greatly associated the unification of the country by the late king Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman al-Faisal al Saud in the 1932. [National Day of Saudi Arabia]

4.2 Al Jenadriyah Heritage and Cultural Festival: This festival is considered as one of the famous cultural programme in the country normally held late February or early March in every year. The festival gives an insight into the rich history and past of the region and is celebrated and organised by the National Guard, an attempt to keep the Customer and Traditions in Saudi Arabia alive. This festival continues for two weeks and showcases some of the exquisite sample of Arts and Crafts of Saudi Arabia. The festival kicks start with an epic camel race that watches up to 2000 participants sprinting across a nineteen kilometre track. This festival features more than 50 folkloric dance and traditional music in Saudi Arabia. [Jenadriyah National Festival]

4.3 Hajj Festival: Mecca is one of the most important holy cities of the Muslim world where the number of religious events and festivals are celebrated all the year round. This major city is mainly well known for the Hajj Festival. All the Muslims expect to undertake the Hajj festival at least once in his lifetime. Non Muslim people cannot strictly participate in this festivals and events in Mecca it can categorically be stated that the festivals and events in Mecca are primarily religious ones. [Festival and Event in Mecca]

4.4 Eid al Fitr: The official Religion in Saudi Arabia is Islam and all the important Islamic festivals are very popular here. This festival is celebrated with great pomp. After the one month of Ramadan fasting this day comes to the Muslim’s life. Though it is a religious festival, non Muslims people also enjoy the event. Asia Room {Eid al Fetr}

4.5 Eid al Adha: The Eid ul Adha festival occupies a significant place in the Islamic culture of Saudi Arabia and celebrated by the Muslim people worldwide. It is held over three days and starts after the completion of Hajj pilgrimage rituals of the country. There is a story about the festival common to Islam of Ibrahim’s sacrifice. [Asia Room {Eid al Adha}] [Arabic Eid al Adha]

5. Festivals of Romania:

5.1 Music Festival: The Golden Stag Festival is an annual international pop music festival held in Romania. Before the MTV Music Awards were created, an event was needed to inspire local and international musicians to greatness. Thus, The Golden Stag Festival came into existence, one of the most important European festivals. It was first held in 1968. [Brasov Travel Guide]

5.2 Summer Festival: The Stufstock festival is the most important summer festival held each year at the end of the summer. This festival gathers together the most famous rock, punk and metal bands in a nice atmosphere like the Black Sea Coast.

[Buchrest babel Blog]

5.3 Dreams and Teams Festival: Dreams and Teams festival is organised by the British Council for the people aged between 14 t 18 to become young leaders in their communities. This volunteerism programme is held in Romania during 18th to 22nd of February and they operate this flourishing project over the 40 countries of the world with audience of over 150,000 young people. The venue is preferred for the training in the sports hall in downtown in Bucharest. During the festival the hall is decorated with tri-colours festoon and the young leaders wear the yellow t-shirt. One of the young leaders is able to teach fire dancing to all the participants. [Britsh Council]

6. Summary: These two countries have their own and individual festivals because of different culture, religion, history and location. Between the two countries, Saudi Arabia is Muslim country and most of the people are Muslims here. So, those festivals are related to religion celebrated here in general by the local people where us we found that Romania is an EU country and the Golden Stag Festival is celebrated internationally like the other festival, Dreams and Teams Festival. However, the Hazz Festival of Saudi Arabia and Stufstock festival of Romania are organised by the local people, but the international Muslims join the Hazz festival.

6. Significance: Festivals are the things that aspect of the country. It is standing for the people amusement and the cultural and historical background of a country. In this world different types of festivals are being existence and people may easily know about the culture of the expected country through the festival.

7. Conclusion: Every country has different culture and festivals. But, there is some similarity among the festivals even though, sometimes they are individual and unique from others. The main aim of most of the festival is to give entertainment to the people. The festivals of Saudi Arabia and Romania are highly established.

What were the crucial factors in the rise of British seaside resorts such as Blackpool?

Samantha Taylor | Metropolis | 18/07/2017

Fig.3 GB Women’s Team.

1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm. The first time women could compete in swimming. [55]

However, what did change for the swimming costumes, seen in fig.3, was the removal or phasing out of the cumbersome woollen bathing dress, for the more revealing and functional swimming costumes, this left a costume for women, much like the men’s. Although the woman who was conscious of her figure still had a two-piece option. [56]

The corset had been around for some time, with many women bathing in them; however, the Edwardian period introduced an S-shaped corset. This corset made the women look as though their upper body was leaning forward, making the women look like stiff pigeons, and emphasised by their highly embellished blouses. However, by 1912, these corsets were phasing out of fashion, for lighter clothing that was easier to promenade along the seaside. Hats were favoured, over the bonnet, by the Edwardians; as the period progressed the women’s hat became larger and became adorned with lace or feathers. [57]

Fig.4 Christmas cup, swimmer [58]

Men’s swimwear also changed by 1914, seen in fig.4, men could now be seen wearing better fitting legless swimming trunks. However, trunks tended to be more boy’s swimwear. [59]

In the Victorian age, men injected a nautical or exotic theme into their seaside fashion. This was carried through to the Edwardian period, although the blazers were far brighter and gaily striped. Beards in this period were seen to be for the older generation whilst the younger tended to be moustached or shaven. [60]

Town Improvement

Despite the advancement in science by the Edwardian age and the obsession with sewerage disposal, this ideal did not extend to the treatment of it. Brighton’s medical officer was quoted in 1903 to have said that with the advancement in the purification of sewerage there was no excuse in contaminating the sea water. [61]

John Walton contradicts John Hassan (see pg. 10), saying that even though the local government controlled the sewerage, they cut costs that impacted on the environment, health and wellbeing by carrying on disposing of it into the sea, well after 1914. [62]

The Victorian, or South Pier at Blackpool having been built in the Victorian period offered a different ambience to that at the Central Pier. By 1911 the areas taste had changed and the Victorian pavilion was built to provide concerts for audiences of up to 900 people. Despite its distance from the other Blackpool piers, Victoria Piers popularity remained consistent. Visitors to the nearby Pleasure Beach Amusement park, which in the Edwardian period was the biggest and most modern amusement park in the country, also extended their visit to Victoria Pier. [63]

In 1908 Blackpool’s Central Pier made a feature of its electric railway. Roller-skating became a craze in 1909 and in 1911, in order to cater for the visitors to the resort, the owners of the Central Pier built a rink. [64]

British coastal defences have been evolving since the Roman period and as a result, Britain tended to be the forerunners of sea defence. The most distinctive are the sea walls; these defences arose from the late 19^th century and into the early 20^th century. Where most local authorities constructed them as multipurpose promenades. [65]

Holiday

During the 1800s, Britain had strict gender segregation. Whilst visiting the continent, where segregation was non-existent, British families became familiar with these customs and insisted on relaxed rules in order to interact with their own family on British beaches. [66]

It wasn’t until 1901 however, when Bexhill in East Sussex, introduced mixed bathing that the rules truly became relaxed, and by 1914 a majority of the beaches had mixed bathing, leading to the decline of the bathing machines. [67]

The postcard had been introduced in Britain around 1870, but the split back postcard was not accepted by the Post Office until 1902. Many artisans sold prints of their photographs or art in postcard form, becoming the first generation of postcards sent back home. [68]

Continental travel rose, to over 660,000 by the 1900’s, whilst it is believed that the British seaside resort in that era was barely breaking even.[69]

This popularisation of continental travel to a wider variety of social class gained criticism from the likes of John Ruskin and other prominent Victorians who thought the well-educated would benefit far more from continental travel. [70]

During the Edwardian period, Blackpool, despite her late start, outdid her rivals with the attractions offered, with nearly four million holidaymakers per year visiting by the outbreak of World War One. [71]

Britain’s seaside resorts had become unique and distinctive, using a verity of techniques to compete for guests. Torquay marketed itself as a holiday town by flaunting Ruskin’s words, who had called Torquay ‘the Italy of England’, this was due to a large number of Italians that had settled in the resort as ice cream vendors. Although places like Newquay, a popular resort today, was a mere village in 1911. [72]

The Polytechnic Touring Association (PTA) was a travelling by-product of the Polytechnic, a classroom club for those who wanted to better themselves. Due to the outbreak of war seaside activities and travel either stopped, as seen in the south and east of England where troops embarked for the conflict on the Continent, or slowed to a quieter pace as in the north. [73]

Women Travellers & Hoteliers.
The Landlady.

Many landladies depended on an extra income due to the seasonality of their work; this came predominantly from her husband’s work if he did not work in the hotel industry. A majority of the landladies were not wil

Even though, Cairo is considered as a largest city in Africa, it also expected that the traffic will be major issue to deal with. There are at least 18 million people live in Cairo in addition of 3500 newborns added to this number each day. Logically it’s not all 18 million people have car but the nature of streets are clogged because of the traffic (stop- go). It’s difficult to discern any particular rules of the road because there are many streets are one way not always this rule is working. It’s known that red light mean “stop” or “slowdown” and green light “walk” light mean it’s safe to cross the road, but it’s not necessarily to believe in that, the drivers are increasing the speed to get through red traffic light with horns blaring to stop anyone who might consider getting in their way. Sometimes they are driving over the pavements; the only thing that forces the driver to stop is no possible way to squeeze around.

Even though Egypt have a despite schemes of modernization in many parts of Cairo, donkey-carts are still a prominent feature in many streets and they manage their way through traffic with their own system but what an incredible thing is many cars do the same, in addition they use the lane of oncoming traffic when their own lane are full.

“Traffic in Cairo is absolutely chaotic. If you are ever tempted to drive in Egypt, take a rest until you get over it,” said Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, manager of an international bank in Egypt, who suffers the daily commute from Heliopolis to 6th of October City and have a real vision about the traffic jam and the accident that occur every five minutes, which make us believe that even the chaos has its own rules.

As Abdel-Hamid said: “lane markers on the road are merely suggestions, and traffic signals are only an opinion,” we can notice that the driver is driving like madmen, he is free to drive down the middle between two lanes of traffic, honking his horn expecting from the cars parallel to his on each side to make a room if possible. “This is not considered rude or in any way out of the place,” Abdel-Hamid says with irony. “Traffic was not that bad few years ago. Nobody respects traffic regulations now; everybody simply goes his own way. It takes hours and hours to go anywhere. Streets are blocked all the time, day and night, especially on 6th of October Bridge -it is crazy to drive on the bridge nowadays,” added Abdel-Hamid.

More than 7000 people per year have been killed and wound nearly 35,000 causes of road fatalities as experts mentioned, so will we reach to limit the number of vehicles. It’s obviously now that Cairo is crumbling under the twin pressure of traffic and population.

According to Mohamed Mursi Mansour, director of Public Traffic Authority of Giza Governorate, new initiatives to address the traffic congestion in Egypt and the issues surrounding road safety are now active in General Authority for Roads and Bridges. “Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading the safety and efficiency of the existing infrastructure in the short term, while mid- and long-term goals focus on increasing the width of roads,” said Mansour.

With refer to World Bank estimation of an urbanization level of 70% by year 2020. The most issues that are facing Egypt in urban transport are congestion, high reliance on road transport and traffic safety. Cairo experience show that the average speeds of traffic is less than 10 Km/hr. which keep in falling down with the increasing in the number of cars. As mentioned in World Bank report, dependence on public transportation is less than 65%.

Abdel-Rahman sherif, head of South-Central Cairo Administration for General Transport, believes that the right solution is to develop an efficient public transportation system, such as the underground metro, also encourage people to use it, to reduce the number of private vehicles. “A committee of traffic specialist and engineers should be formed to study the problem and draft a comprehensive master plan. I believe that Cairo is in dire need of better planning if traffic is to be streamlined,” states sherif.

Let’s take a Dukki region as case in point, which was originally planned as a neighborhood of villas and boulevards. Owners of most villas in the district randomly expanded into more profitable high-rise apartment blocks. The streets and sewage system, however, could not cope with the resultant increase in the number of inhabitants, especially since few of these apartment buildings included garages. Planners, Sherif adds, had to expand the streets at the expense of pedestrian pavements – a “big mistake”, in his opinion. “Expanding streets and adding more fly-overs and tunnels is not always the solution to traffic congestion,” Sherif argues. Rather, these measures encourage the influx of more vehicles into already congested areas.

Nowadays, traffic in Cairo should be seen to be believed. It’s more than like elemental force than a movement of cars. Absolutely there is many several forces contributed to traffic jam, these factor should be taken seriously and diagnosed before solution will be out of control. With refer to Atef Abdel-Ghani Fayad, whose working as general director of roads, he mentioned to the factors which might be considered as causes of traffic congestion: the population explosion, high frequency of daily trips by motorists, and urban and economic development. He also explained the need of efficient public transportation system and more qualified network of road and rails ways. That’s because the motorists make three trips daily in Greater Cairo as an average, with addition of population growth rate, its high at 2.4%: “this means that we have an increase of nearly one million people every year.”

It’s useless to lunch a project without studying the consequences adequately, like building bridges at Lebanon square in AL-Mohandissin, also Fayad was talking about this issue and he said: “This area was originally planned for residential purposes, but now it is main cause of traffic congestion.” The solutions we asked for should not be traditional, according to Fayad; we should study every small particular thing and take it seriously before we do it, also we have to get a drawing plan to study the network road, also we need to study the number and directions of daily trips made by motorists and commuters, after that we can tell and build the number of car parks needed. “By increasing people awareness of traffic regulation and urging them to use public transportation are necessary, through efficient public transportation, and road maintenance.”

As mentioned by Director-General of Transportation at Ministry of Interior, Essameddin Asfour, there is a comprehensive plan on the table as to how to streamline traffic. “people must be patient; when the completion of construction work of the bridge located in Lebanon Square as well as Al-Remayah Square comes to an end, this will alleviate much of pressure,” as Asfour said.

Asfour added: “the ministry has also formed a committee of senior policemen whose task is to keep the congestion traffic areas clean,” this problem is not only hard sometimes to solve by ministry but it also hard sometimes to be solved by experts and specialists in addition this case of problem is not the responsibility of Ministry of Interior alone, because the solutions can also be found by using information and communication technologies (ICTs). “To the unexpected of many that technological solutions and applications can definitely put an end for this problem through a good use of database and instant information. Specialists and those are responsible about this problem should work together to find an outline for the path down which ICTs and transport can productively merge,” adds asfour.

Mohamed Abdel-Atti, an eminent transport expert, explains how ICTs will give a big help in traffic monitoring, especially monitoring traffic jams, like building up a powerful database capable of predicting bottlenecks and accident before they happen. Abdel atti explains that brining foreign technologies into Egypt market is not always good, so we should make our best out of them and adapting them to local needs and conditions.

On the other side we should find a dire solution to secure the passage of pedestrians. The city streets are not organized; it’s difficult to cross the street. Its normal to cross one lane when that’s all you can cross, then stand in the middle of torrent of whizzing cars waiting for the next opening. “Death is inevitable,” says Fayad sarcastically. The engineers and the worker on the site are always focus on traffic problems without taking in calculation that people and not cars are making the city as it is, also pedestrians go nearly always unconsidered. Fayad adds: “cars are moving over pavements, which are no longer safe, and pedestrians have been forced into the center of the street, since becoming the main victims of traffic problems.”

To insure the safety to pedestrians passage, it was announced lately that there exists plan to build pedestrian tunnel all over Cairo, equipped with escalators. The first action is expected to start building the pedestrian tunnel in front of Cairo University in Giza. An equivalent tunnel already exists below Salah Salem Street in front of the Cairo Trade Fair grounds. “Two other tunnels will be built in the areas of Abbasiya and Fustat,” says Fayad. Officials wishes that after developing an efficient public transportation system, “traffic will be streamlined and pedestrians will be able to walk and cross streets safely,” Fayad added.

Prime minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif, has checked how is going the first project of public transportation in Greater Cairo which aims to include 200 buses as a first step. This project aims to release around 1100 buses through the three coming years, starting from this year also there will be 300 buses added to the 200 before the end of this year.

The plan of this project is to provide 300 buses annually over the coming two years.

The project also includes plans to develop the human resources for the workers and employees in Cairo Transportation Authority (CTA), as well as setting training program for administrative employees and drivers.

Prime minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif after he checked the first action of the project confirmed that Cairo is one of the biggest and largest city in the world with high population that normally cause a traffic congestion; however the government still fighting against the twin pressure which coming from traffic jam and high population. The government has decided to solve and work on this problem on two phases. Reduce the population through build new cities and improving squatters. “There is a project exists and its aim is to get rid of kiosks to be implemented by the squatter’s development fund,” Dr. Ahmed Nazif mentioned. The second phase with help of Cairo Transportation Authority (CTA) ?S development and improvement is aiming to solve citizen daily surfing in Cairo traffic congestion, also encourage the people to use a public transportation instead of their own private cars.

Dr. Ahmed Nazif keep the doors open for the private companies to participate in the mentioned project by including 1500 new air-conditioned buses by coming period, something which might encourage private cars owners to use special buses instead of their owns.

Cairo is designed to home around 4 million drivers, but according to recent statistics confirmed that Cairo home 17 million at least, which obviously this huge difference will cause what called “congestion” and “high population”. According to this most Egyptians are waking-up on the noise of not duke but noise of horns, also they have the same routine at every morning at 8 am, the rushing torrent of buses, and once again at 5pm, passengers are getting in and out of the NON-STOP public transports while it keep in motion.

In September 2008, the government takes an action against the new arrivals of new 120,000 vehicles to the Greater Cairo Streets, which was as mentioned by Abdel Azim Wazir, Cairo Governor: the Government has locate a space area outside the heart of the capital of Egypt, and the Government offices and ministries will be removed and rebuild it there, also it will stop build any more schools, universities or even government offices inside Cairo.

After taking many opinions and comments also a recommendations from many responsible men and authorities, most of them are getting head-ace and confusing from this problem. But as view as traffic experts, they have another point view which is about the driving habits specially from what it calls “microbus”, most of Egyptians are using these kind of transportation with ignoring how bad the driver while he is driving holding horn all over the rout causing noise pollution and it’s not only this ,but also he doesn’t respect the rules of the traffic even the respect of humidity. Microbus drivers are not wages by hours, but they wages by the number of daily trips the can do. So, they are throwing themselves in troubles with policemen also with most dangerous accident, that causes a high traffic congestions, also it need more than three hours to be solved. “Because the government are not mentioned to the new traffic laws, that’s why the drivers are keep ignoring the traffic signs,” as Rehab Mahmoud said, a freelance business trainer.

Order winners may be defined as the factors which contribute towards the winning of business.They are the main reasons because of which the customers buys a certain product or services.It may be different for different peoples because of needs and desires about the product and services.

1.2 Order winners in Disneyland Paris
Location

France is one of the most developed economies in Europe and Paris is quite generally called the tourist hub because of its history and architecture with best transport links from all over the Europe.One of the major advantage was TGV links from all over the Europe including England.With just less than 200 million people can visit Paris either by road or by plane within 2 to 6 hours.So locating in Marne-la-Vallee just outside Paris is a order winning determinant.

(Slack et al,2009,p 90)

Goodwill

The goodwill earned by Disneyland Paris were mainly categorised into three factors brand,entertainment and services.The term Disney has become a brand for whole of the Europe as about 2 million Europeans were visiting US at the time of Euro Disneyland opening.The name Disneyland stands for the whole family entertainment that brings together with high standards customer service.Standards to recruit Disneyland Paris employees were not compromised at all because of its reputation.It also gained its goodwill through its founder Walt Disney who aims to take customers in a beautiful imaginative world of images,characters and rides which helps them to forget real world sorrows and stress.So goodwill is an important order winning factor.

Cost

Cost to visit Disneyland Paris is very nominal for French peoples as well as other European union countries because of the formation of European union in which no visa is required to visit Schenegan countries giving Disneyland Paris a positive point.Peoples who cannot afford to visit US can now enjoy the Disneyland’s Entertainment and services in Paris with much cheaper cost.

(Slack et al,2009,pp 91-92)

Innovation

Disneyland as a whole is having Disney University which helps in designing new rides for the theme parks.Innovative new characters and rides attracts visitors to visit Disney land Paris again and again.

1.3 Order qualifiers

Order qualifier may be defined as the less important competitive factors which do not leads towards winning business for the firm but are actually important for the firm to be considered by the customer.Qualifiers should be above to a certain limit so that customers can’t ignore it in terms of competitiveness.

(Slack et al,1995)

1.4 Order qualifiers in Disneyland Paris
Safety standards

As Disney land Paris consist of rides and lot of entertaining stuff they never compromised on their safety standards as it does not win business but it is a qualifying factor.

Euro-American blend

As a American company Disneyland’s basic layout and structures were derived from its home country but when they started their operations in Europe they modified various things to qualify for the European market.Wild west image will be positive for Europeans as stated by market research so both hotels and rides were designed to reflect this image.Before its opening some of the French politicians were not in a favour of Disneyland Paris so they emphasized on European heritage of Disney by placing Cindrella and Snow white in Europe.More queue management systems with extra diversions like films and entertainment were planned because French visitors will be intolerant to long queues.

(Slack et al,2009,pp 90-91)

Distinct features

Euro Disney was so different from its European competitors that peoples who visited it were stunned by its recognizable characters and new innovative rides.As indicated by French news paper features was one the qualifying factors.

Neat and clean environment

As it is a basic mindset that nobody is going to be entertained in a messy place so its one of the qualifying factor for Euro Disney.

(Slack et al,1995)

Operation strategy for Euro Disney

Operation strategy for Euro Disney was to provide high standards of services to its customers by creating innovative ways of entertainment and treating customers as a participants not as a spectators.At the opening time of Euro Disney it takes all relevant steps to give its operation a competitive edge over its competitors.Giving a European feel to Disneyland Paris so that it will be a good blend of European as well as wild west image to give a long term advantage.To create a variety of fast food from around the world.Effectively introduced the queue management system so that the visitors can tolerate the long queues by entertainment and films and one of the most important strategy was to provide a high level of customer service by maintaining high standards of employees recruitment procedures.It consist of lot of difficulties in recruitment.French press as well as employees union opposed these strict standards of recruitment and training but Disney never compromised on their set standards of delivering excellent customer services as well as safety procedures.Providing innovative rides and characters so that interest of the visitors will remain on the long term basis.

(Slack et al,1995)

Q.2
Capital requirements

Euro Disney was situated in Marne-la-Vallee just outside Paris.So the cost of capital and leasing in Euro Disney was considerably low.On the other hand Spanish authorities were providing all the significant financial assistance like invest in local infrastructure, reduce value added tax and subsidized loans except expropriation of land from farmers but French government offered all of it so Capital investment in utilities were elevated. Access to the project by customers was easily available because of historical TGV link project was about to start.

Market factors

Location of Euro Disney affects how European factors like individual or general customers notice the operation.In general European take more vacation as compared to American that lead towards its opening and one of the major factor according to market survey indicating 85% residents of France were willing to welcome Disney park.Locating it near Paris leads to a positive point because Paris is a tourist hub but Contrary recruitment process was not appropriate because of its location the employees from rest of Europe and world was not attracted towards it that results in recruiting 70% French.

(Slack et al,2009)

Cost factors

Location of Disneyland Paris affects the two major categories of cost.The cost of producing services was considerably high in Euro Disney by 15% of the French minimum wage because of its adverse location outside Paris but on the other hand cost factors like community cost which consist of low tax rate,government assistance,language,political stability and amenities were in favour of Disney land Paris because of French government provided it.

Future flexibility

As the location of Euro Disney was situated outside Paris so it is quite possible to expand its function in future because there is no scarcity of land secondly as the trends and behaviours of customers will be changing in future so it will be viable to run Euro Disney in that scenario as it is closely located to Paris.In terms of future flexibility Disneyland Paris was located in a appropriate place which can meet current need as well as future requirements without changing its location.

Risk factor

Risk factors are of two types transition risks and long term risk.Euro Disney transition risk was nominal because of its location outside Paris which is easily accessible and relocation process is smooth as compared to congested destinations. As the name states Euro Disney was placed outside America so long term risk factors like exchange rate value of dollar became cheap and as a result lot of visitors visited Florida Walt Disney World. Recession in Europe causes property prices to drop simultaneously in a dramatic way leading towards long term security risk of property but it is a common recession for whole Europe including France and Spain.

(Slack et al,2009)

Conclusion

The decision to locate European resort near Paris is correct decision because only cost factor of labour is going against it as they are paying 15% more than the minimum wage.

Q.3.

The basic design of all Disney parks in the whole world is the same except few regional differences but to accommodate Euro Disney several extra changes were made according to the preference of Europeans.An market survey shows that European will be responding towards the wild-west image of America so to cash it up

hotels and rides were designed to give special importance on it.On the other hand French left-wing politician and intellectuals were not in the favour of Disney land Paris because they believe that it will portray American culture through its design.To make it more appropriate for Europeans and to counter changes Disneyland Paris has taken various steps to emphasize European heritage of Disney’s characters and made it more beautiful because Paris is world famous for its architecture and historical sights.It should reflect the taste and architecture of its location to compete in a better way. Euro-American cultures and Architecture were blended in such a way that more and more people are attracted towards Euro Disney.

“For Example,Discoveryland features storylines from jules verne, the French author. Snow White (and her seven dwarfs) was located in Bavarian village.Cindrella was located in French inn.Even Peter-Pan was made to appear more ‘English Edwardian’ than in the original US designs.”

(Slack et al,2009)

Disneyland Paris introduced a huge variety of food and snacks bars from all over the world.In comparison with other nationalities French were most intolerant in terms of waiting in long queues. Then a well planned queue management system were designed and introduced for the people who cannot wait in queues by planning extra no of diversions such as films and entertainment.To start recruiting employees Disney have a proportion of 45% will be French 30% will be from other European countries and 15% will be from rest of the world but because of its outside location from Paris they have to recruit 70% of its employees from France.Inspite of various compromises in terms of their design they never compromised on their recruitment and grooming standards.After recruitment and grooming of employees problem arises for accommodating them.Disney then build their own apartments for their employees.So they adopted lot of things stated above to fit in European environment.

(Slack et al,2009 p 91)

The project aims to create a publishable case study on an eco-tourist enterprise, Naked Retreats (http://www.nakedretreats.cn/) operating in Mainland China. With the rise in eco-tourism, this firm has positioned itself as a low-carbon experience and minimalist lifestyle. The firm constructed one successful lodge in Monganshan near Shanghai and is completing another near Hangzhou with potential future developments. The case will explore the challenges and opportunities for a firm seeking to position itself as an alternative tourism experience.

Ecotourism Defined

Ecotourism differentiates itself from traditional tourism as it focuses on traveling to low impact and small scaled areas and fulfill criteria including educating the traveler, and to benefit the environment, economic development and political empowerment of the local communities. [1]

While there has been criticism of the lack of official definition of ecotourism, the following is one working definition that has been used and accepted since the recognition of ecotourism.

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defined ecotourism as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people” (1990). This definition was further expanded by Co-founder of the Center for Responsible Travel, Martha D. Honey, PhD has also further expanded this definition in her book (Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, Second Edition: Who Owns Paradise?) according to the following principles set by TIES guiding those who implement and participate in ecotourism:

Minimize impact.

Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.

Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.

Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.

Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.

Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate. [2]

Ecotourism in the World

Ecotourism has been earning great recognition worldwide since 1990s. According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), the sector has been growing at an average rate of 20-34% per year since then. [3] In year 2005, ecotourism has been rated as one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism industry, representing 6% of the world’s gross domestic product and 11.4% of all consumers spending. [4]

Up to 95% of income earned from ecotourism is fueled back to the local economy. [5] A survey shows that the majority (61 percent) of the 58.5 million Americans, who would pay more to use a travel company that strives to protect and preserve the environment, would in fact pay 5 percent to 10 percent more for ecotourism. [6] A survey also shows that the daily expenditure of cultural tourists (US$90) is higher than visitors on a touring holiday (US$67), beach holiday (US$62), city break (US$54) or rural trip. [7]

A study was conducted of North American ecotourists, including more general interest travelers and more specialized, experienced ecotourists; The following figure shows the major ecotourism market profile and trip characteristics. [8]

There are also several types of tourism which are also said to be closely related to ecotourism defined to according to a 2005 report by The Worldwatch Institute as follows: [9]

Geo tourism

Tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place-its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.

Nature-based tourism

Any form of tourism that relies primarily on the natural environment for its attractions or settings.

Pro-poor tourism

Tourism that results in increased net benefit for the poor people.

Responsible tourism

Tourism that maximizes the benefits to local communities, minimizes negative social or environmental impacts, and helps local people conserve fragile cultures, habitats, and species.

Sustainable tourism

Tourism that meets the needs of present tourist and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future.

While some countries and destinations have benefited from ecotourism, the fact that others have not has led some to conclude that significant gaps exist between ecotourism’s potential and actual contributions in many areas. Nevertheless, countries and regions continue to turn to forms of nature-based tourism and ecotourism as a means of contributing to national, regional, and local development. [10]

Outlook of the International Tourism Market

The following are the top ten countries by tourist arrivals, receipts, and citizen spending in 2008 and 2009. (Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), August 2010)

Globally, international tourism created direct receipts of US$ 852 billion (611 billion euros) in 2009. 48.5% of this revenue went to Europe, with Asia capturing 23.9%. The contribution of tourism to economic activity worldwide is estimated at 5%. Tourism’s contribution to employment direct and indirectly is slightly higher relatively and is estimated in the order of 6-7% of the overall number of jobs worldwide. [11]

Tourism could be highly susceptible to weak economic conditions as well as social conditions such as terrorism, etc. In year 2008-2009, the negative change of both international arrivals and receipts for most countries could be explained by the slow recovery of the economic recession, as well as the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. This was the first year of decline since year 2003, when tourism was hit by the Iraq war and outbreak of SARS.

Developing countries in particular have looked to tourism to help increase national foreign exchange earnings, GDP and employment rates, and to improve socioeconomic conditions in peripheral regions. [12] According to the WTO report of 2001, East Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and South Asia were the three fastest developing tourism regions in year 2000.

Ecotourism in Asia and China

Ecotourism has been one highlighted economic sector among many developing as well as developed countries in Asia, such as India, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia and China.

Ecotourism in China started around year 2000 with the establishment of pioneer ecotourism companies such as Chinafaces, Nomadic Journeys, TibetGateway and WildChina. These companies operate various daytrips, educational and corporate tours to regions and places such as Yunnan, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guizhou. Among these companies, WildChina seems to be the market leader of the ecotourism industry, winning several awards since its establishment including being selected as one of National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine’s 2009 Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth. [13]

Ecotourism is thought to be an inevitable way for Chinese nature reserves to achieve sustainable development, and it certainly has the potential of becoming a prominent industry in western China [14] .

An article written in 2004 divided the ecotourism in China into six fundamental types, namely Forest Recreation Ecotourism, Prairie Coquette Ecotourism, Wetlands Bird-watching Ecotourism, Desert Exploration Ecotourism, Countryside Experience Ecotourism and Ocean Vacation Ecotourism. [15]

Ecotourism faces many challenges in China. As there have been disputes and differences with the definition of ecotourism worldwide, China has been having a hard time to determine which tourism could be considered as ecotourism. Another issue is the lack of direction and resources on how to construct truly ecofriendly travel.

Most of China’s ecotourism spots are concentrated on areas that are less developed. Many communities within these pristine natural areas and rich biodiversity face a challenge with mass tourism. Although an upward hike in tourism could mean development and higher standards of living, but it could also lead to destruction of biodiversity, local culture, Mother Nature etc. Hence, the biggest challenge for these communities is to develop their knowledge on building sustainable ecotourism spots and programs. To help these communities, Conservation International China (CI China) is establishing an Ecotourism Academy that will provide training courses for 200 people each year from communities in China. [16]

Nevertheless, He Guangwei, director of China’s National Tourism Administration in year 2003 said that China’s tourism now occupies 5.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP), and by 2020, this proportion will reach 11%. He also estimated that tourism’s percentage of the GDP will be 6% in 2005 and 8% by 2015. [17]

China excluding Hong Kong hosted 50.9 million tourists’ arrivals in year 2009, ranking 4th after France, United States and Spain, with tourism receipts of US$39.7billion, accounting for 8.1% of total GDP. [18] China is also ranked first in terms of share of international tourists’ arrivals (28.1%) and receipts (19.5%) in the Asia and the Pacific region in year 2007-2009. [19]

A research by the China National Tourism Association (CNTA) and PATA indicates that rural tourist destinations in China now attract 300 million visitors annually while the UNWTO predicts China will become the world’s largest inbound travel destination by 2020. CNTA has named year 2009 the “Chinese Ecotourism Year” with the slogan for which encourages citizens to “be a green traveler and experience eco-civilization.”

However, there are still many projects that have not properly established norms to be named “ecotourism”. The country has also yet to use international certifications such as Green Globe, a global benchmarking system based on the Agenda 21 principles for sustainable development drawn up at the UN Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and which is largely recognized elsewhere as a guarantee of a project’s environmental credentials. [20] As of 2006, only two hotels, two parks and one museum in China had been Green Globe certified. [21]

Potential Benefits and Costs of Ecotourism

Ecotourism is growing in many countries, and is mostly on undiscovered lands. As the numbers of tourists grow, so does the interest in seeing new places and seeking new experiences, and some of these locations show how tourism can have negative impacts. The primary costs and benefits for ecotourism are as follows:

Benefits
Costs

Increased funding for protected areas and local communities

Environmental degradation

Job creation for local residents

Economic instability and inequity

Environmental education for visitors

Socio-cultural changes

About Naked Retreats

The “Naked Concept” was founded by Grant Horsfield in Shanghai around 2 years ago. Founders of Naked Retreats including Grant, Grabriela Lo, and Evan Lai was inspired by the prospect of providing ways of getting away while benefiting the lives of all involved. They believed that people, are innately good at heart. Hence, they came out with the idea of Naked Retreats to provide ways in which people could nourish their own needs for recreation, while not leaving a massive carbon footprint.

Naked Retreats is located in Moganshan, at the top of the mountain. This village currently has about 40 guesthouses, villas and hotels (named Studios, Bungalows and Lodge) in various states of functionality and several mixed decades of decor. Naked Retreats also offer several event packages for its customers, including Corporate/School/Wedding events, as well as Yoga Weekend and Naked by Candlelight. There are many activities that could be arranged and done in Moganshan, and most of them have received great reviews from its customers, those includes Yoga, Tennis, Fishing, Mountain Biking, Hiking, Forest Walk and Daytrips to Tianshan.

Introduction & Executive Summary

Ritz – Carlton was founded by Mr. Cesar Ritz who initially worked in finest Hotels and restaurants in Paris. He owned grand Hotel Ritz and within one year he expanded wings in London and opened Hotel Carlton which became Ritz – Carlton Hotel Company. He believed in excellent personalized services which satisfied the discerning guest. Ritz – Carlton expanded to North America and ownership changed during 1983 to Johnson Company. During 1983 – 1987 Ritz – Carlton expanded domestically and internationally under new ownership. [i]

During 1997 Marriott International purchased Ritz – Carlton and by 2000 it became primarily a management company operating 38 Hotels and resorts worldwide with minority stake in 10 properties and outright ownership of 3 hotels. The company used to obtain management contracts for new hotels and resorts around the world.

Over the year’s hotel conglomerate won & acclaimed for its services and had been awarded Best Hotel in Asia – Pacific in the eight Business Traveler Asia / Pacific magazine Travel Awards Subscribe Survey and for two consecutive years Best Business Hotel in Malaysia.

The Ritz – Carlton Hotel Company for the first time now wants to open a hotel in historic Foggy Bottom district of Washington D C in Multi – Use facility complex owned by Millennium Partners. The Hospitality Complex is 162 Luxury Condominiums, sports club, splash Spa, three restaurant, and 40,000 square feet of street -level restaurants and retail shops and 300-room hotel.

Millennium partners founded in 1990 that set up high end luxury apartments and Lincoln square four building complex in New York was their first project and exhibited their future intensions. Millennium partners ended up in hotel business.

In this case study Essence of Ritz-Carlton experience, the Ritz-Carlton selling, how the Ritz-Carlton creates “Ladies and Gentlemen” in only 7 days. Also McBride, Ritz-Carlton GM, to lengthen the amount of time spent on training hotel employees before hotel opening. McBride should consider a total overhaul of the hotel opening process.

Products and Services

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company develops and Operates luxury hotels. Hotels are designed and identified to appeal to and suit the requirements of major customers including meeting event planners, Business travelers and leisure travelers. Ritz- Carlton set out to open any new hotel Ritz-Carlton including detailed analysis of site selection, new product and service development and feasibility study. The detailed analysis also includes target customers, their needs and expectations. The each hotel customized to meet local market demand. Innovation through make use of latest technology for enhancing customer satisfaction level – Link restaurant services through internet KobaltExpress.com. It allows customers to decide menus ahead of time and also select the choice of table. Differential aesthetic look and best quality interior was few of the additional features.

Core Values & Business Model

Following are the core values and Business model exist at Ritz Carlton:

Core values: Trust, honesty, integrity and commitment.

A great emphasizing on human resources, believes it important and biggest assets

Foster work environment to fulfill individual aspirations

Focus on Service but not sales

Guest greets at Airport with mimosas and discount coupons on a silver tray

Airport check – in concierge

Techno savvy to ensure customer’s needs satisfied

Event Planners

Ritz -Carlton managed properties for Millennium partners who were one of several hotel owners. Ritz – Carlton charged management fees of 3% of total revenue besides wholly owned luxury hotels around the world. The customer segment was Independent travelers and Meeting Event planners. The key success indicators of hotel business were “Average Daily Rate” and Revenue per Available Room”.

Independent travelers were influenced through special services like providing discounting coupons at airports, created hotel room at airport and also introduced “Technology Butler”. The specialized services increased customer convenience and outpaced the competition.

The nature of services is perishable and individual travelers are aiding in profitability. The event business / meeting business are growing and desirable for the sustainable profitability. The management contracts tend to meet needs of owners and operators.

Quality at Ritz – Carlton:

Ritz Carlton has a great emphasizing on human resources. Robust HRM practices envisage right people for the right job and inducted to become perfect lady and gentleman. The total quality management philosophy began to permeate the organization. Company focused on new activities and measures including quality standards, continuous improvements for delivering better service & quality. New programs designed to meet customer specific need and service quality indicators. The Quality policy believes in “Exceeding Standards”. Warm and sincere greeting, anticipation and compliances of guest needs and warm good bye are key service steps.

HRM Practices at Ritz Carlton

Human resources is critical element in the process for understanding of the service to be delivered and priorities in doing so, are aligned closely with customers’ expectations and marketing communications by the organization. For managers, the service climate needs to support and reward employees in their efforts to deliver the service product reliably at the promised standard.

The value creation for customer –

If the customer perceives quality of the service to be higher than the cost incurred, the customer receives value.

The greater the difference between the quality of service and the cost, greater will be the satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Ritz – Carlton turnover rate was 20% compared to hotel industry average rate of 100%. This exhibits how Ritz – Carlton cares about their employees and viewthem as one of the important and biggest asset and has passion for the people. Ritz – Carlton nurtured and maximizes talent of each individual. Through the extensive formal and informal training employee were prepared to meet current obligations and also higher responsibilities in future. Employees were also trained to meet futuristic obligations and encouraged to cross train and learn about many different aspects. Performance was not only criteria but also managed by the employees themselves.

Employees are monitoring their own performance and recognized for outstanding work, which ingrains a competitive advantage not seen not in the same industry but in many others too.

Staffing

To minimize failure in delivering services, key HRM practices like employee recruitment, selection and training focused and implemented. People having aptitude, talent and attitude to serve people, training schedule made sure to shape out staff for delivering exceptional services. The key of maintaining exceptional service standards was to keep high morale and motivation of each employee. Various tools were used to attract applicants for the various positions include visiting competitor’s restaurants, advertisement in news papers and visiting hospitality schools. Ritz – Carlton job fair was organized for mass recruitment. Aspirants treated well including convenient reaching to destination of job fair, offering snacks and beverages, make them aware about organization.

Value System and Service Oriented Approach of Ritz-Carlton

The customer service oriented approach has three elements: For whom services and products created who will deliver and how will be delivered.

Customer Value

Customer relationships and customer loyalty

Different communication and pricing strategies

Assessment of customer satisfaction and complaints

Making customer value more tangible

People

Role of employees in value creation

Nature of competencies required to deliver services

Empowerment of employees

Reduction of stress

Operations and Technology

Designing processes to create value

Design and location of facilities

Role of technology

Capacity management

The Ritz Carlton having different value and philosophy in business which includes and they operate The Credo, The Motto, The Three Steps of Service, Service Values, the 6th Diamond & the Employee Promise.

The company is engage in the services oriented which have the unique characteristics for providing the services in order to meet the expectation of the customer. Some of the highlights have been captured depicted below:-

Excellence in service not in Selling

The Ritz-Carlton Philosophy states as they are not in the hotel business. The Ritz-Carlton is selling an experience, and experience that is based on excellence of service. As stated by Schulze, “We are not in the hotel business. The hotel business is about selling rooms, selling food, selling the bar. We do those things incidentally, but our business is service. We charge for service. Our commitment to our customers is excellence in service”.

Their commitment to customers is excellence in service. Service is their profession. The total service oriented approach.

The Credo

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of guests is the highest mission. Pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfils even the unexpressed wishes and needs of guests.

Motto

At The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., “We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” This motto exemplifies the anticipatory service provided by all staff members.

Motto of the company, Employee commitment, The credo, employee promises and twenty basics are gold standards and success mantras. Gold standards reinforced on daily basis in order to build the habits of employees to deliver the highest level of services

The three steps of service,- A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest’s name. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest’s needs Fond farewell give a warm good-bye and use the guest’s name.

Service Values:

Employees feel proud To Be Ritz-Carlton as they have opportunity to do following which gives them job satisfaction. The Ritz Carlton is known for service excellence and follow following principals to provide excellent service to their customers.=

1. Employee satisfaction.

2. Leadership involvement.

3. Determination, commitment, and accountability.

4. Attend to “voice of the customers.”

5. Two-way communication.

6. Freedom to act.

7. Employees as ambassadors.

8. Adapt service recovery model (L.A.S.T.: Listen, Apologize, Solve, and Thank You.)

9. Anticipate needs.

10. Scripting to convey the right message [ii]

The 6th Diamond – is Mystique, Emotional Engagement & Functional , these all cared by Ritz- Carlton and known 6th Diamond.

Employee Promises – At The Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen are the most important resource in service commitment to guests. By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity and commitment, they nurture and maximize talent to the benefit of each individual and the company.

The Ritz-Carlton fosters a work environment where diversity is valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton Mystique is strengthened. [iii]

Creating Service Oriented culture through orientation

Servitisation approach means bundling goods & services and makes a integrated package. This approach more focus on associated services than product

Four steps in creating servitisation approach:-

Knowing your customers

Organizing service delivery systems

Making sure employees have appropriate skills

Employing technology

A services discipline is defined by the following main features:

The benefits it offers to customers

The need to integrate, manage and deliver processes

The importance of establishing and maintaining relationships

The Ritz-Carlton As a premium hotel whose utmost mission is to provide “genuine care and comfort to guests,” The Ritz-Carlton pledges to “provide the finest personal service and facilities to the guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed yet refined ambience.”And this objective can only be fulfilled by satisfied and engaged employees.

The three goals of Ritz are financial results, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. These goals are not exclusive from each other. They are very closely interrelated. Without satisfied and engaged employees, there is no way to achieve excellent financial results and guest satisfaction.

To ensure such high service standards, Management team look for people who will fit the existing culture and see the following qualities in the people.

People who share the same values and purpose.

People who care for and respect others.

People who smile naturally.

People who seek a long term relationship.

People who have talent for the job

Process of Ritz to create “Ladies and Gentlemen” in only 7 days

The seven days countdown was formulated for hotel opening process which was refined during in the process of last several years , this was the new employee’s first encounter with hotel, which started exactly seven days before the grand opening of the hotel.

The first two (2) days were devoted to orienting employees to the company culture and values.

The next five days were devoted to more skills training and trial runs of service delivery.

To ensure that employees are get aligned with organization mission and core values.

Trainers from 23 nationalities

The orientation process is slow and thorough, and ensures that the employees are aligned with the organization’s mission and a great deal of focus is kept on the conveying the values of the organization.

The trainers for the orientation program are gathered from 23 different countries, all considered the “best of the best” in their role within the organization. These trainers are responsible for ensuring that each employee is at the required level or standard in their specific job function at the hotel.

Schulze addresses the new team by stating, “You are not servants. We are not servants. Our profession is service. We are ladies and gentleman. We are ladies and gentleman and should be respected as such.” He conveys a message of unity, a message of equality and team work during his address, and he again insists that “We are ladies and gentleman serving ladies and gentleman”, as per the Ritz Carlton motto.

The Ritz-Carlton employed the “Gold Standards” to ensure this message was communicated effectively to all employees; the Gold Standard included “The Credo, The Three Steps of Service, The Motto, The Employee Promise and the Twenty Basics” to ensure employees were focused on the organizations values.

Through continuous communication and brain storming session and directives from top to down level and intensive training, skill development and an aligned HRM strategy, within 7 days the Ritz-Carlton managed to create ladies and gentleman out of their employees.

The steps for making Ladies and Gentleman
Training and daily line-up:

During the first two days employees were aware, trained and dipped into the culture and values of the organization and remaining five days devoted to specific skill training and trial runs of service delivery ensuring everything perfect and meeting service standards. The orientation process ensures aligns the worker with the mission of company and ensured service philosophy ingrained in all its employees, they ingrained the message that all employees are in the service business and not the hotel business.

The executive team and Human Resources explain The Ritz-Carlton Credo, Employee Promise, and 12 Service Values. After that, they will receive 30 days of training from a certified trainer from the department. On Day 21, new employees are asked to give the management feedback on how they can improve their training program for future training and recertification. In addition, every employee gets a minimum of 130 hours of training every year, which spans training for his or her department, company culture, and language and computer skills. Day 365 is recognition of one year of loyal service and is an opportunity to reinforce the hotel’s culture. Every employee will also go through annual recertification after they pass written tests, role-play and interviews on culture and skill.

Daily line-up – is a daily briefing to reiterate the company’s standard and convey important business messages. It takes place every morning in each department. While each department may conduct briefings differently, the message they convey is the same worldwide: they will talk about one of the 12 Service Values.

Listening and communication: –

Communication is important and creates abundant opportunities to interact with employees beginning with the interview and continuing through monthly breakfast meetings and his daily rounds of the hotel: Human Resources also holds a monthly feedback session with randomly selected employees for 1 to 1.5 hours to discuss their concerns. Overall, every employee has one opportunity every year to speak with the General Manager or HR Director in private. In addition, the hotel conducts annual employee satisfaction surveys, and on an ongoing basis, collects opinions on employee issues and posts them in public areas identifying those responsible for solving them. The executive team then notes the number of issues solved and measures the satisfaction of the employees.

Empowerment and continuous improvement:

Employees are also encouraged to be innovative and creative when it comes to improving their jobs. Money is not the key motivator; employees are rewarded for improving the goals measured by guest satisfaction, financial performance and employee satisfaction at year-end. Employees are rewarded and recognized for their outstanding customer service. [iv]

Information support:

Through their numerous interactions with guests throughout their stay like check in, room service, and housekeeping, employees continuously record guest preferences and needs in Guest Preference Forms. Every night, such preferences and needs are entered into The Ritz-Carlton’s worldwide database Project Mystique, so whenever guests make a reservation at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, their needs and preferences are known and taken care of.

Reward and recognition:

At The Portman Ritz-Carlton, employees are recognized and rewarded both financially and non-financially. Mark DeCocinis believes if you want your people to be the best, you must pay them top market salaries. While money is not the key motivator, employees are rewarded for improving the goals measured by guest satisfaction, financial performance and employee satisfaction at year end. Employees are rewarded and recognized for their outstanding customer service. Every quarter, a Five-Star Employee Award is granted; with the winner receiving a five-night stay for two at a Ritz-Carlton anywhere in the world, along with round-trip tickets for two and US$500 allowance.

At Ritz -Carlton human resources are very well planned they treat with hospitality. As per their President who says you are not servant. We are not servant. Our profession is service. We are ladies and gentleman, just as the guests are whom we respect as ladies and gentleman. If you impart such culture be sure you will create ladies and gentle to serve.

Give the respect & take the respect, which costs nothing only wins, the heart of the customer who is taking the service & will have regards for the service provider.

Employee orientation schedule

Employee orientation is key part of the training and development process which introduces employees to the jobs, colleagues and organization. Researchers have found that formal orientation can achieve significant cost savings by reducing anxiety of new employees, fostering positive attitudes, job satisfaction and sense of commitment at the start of the employment relationship.

The 7 day countdown was a Hallmark of Ritz Carlton’s well defined hotel opening process which synchronized all steps leading to the opening of a new hotel. It was Ritz Carlton’s orientation process aimed at aligning the employee with the vision and mission of the organization. The 7 day orientation process was standardized and ensured that Ritz Carlton has the right employees to support its vision which was “Excellent Personalized Service”.

The seven day countdown was a worldwide best practice for the organization but in our opinion McBride should lengthen the 7 day countdown because of the following reasons:

Current difficulty faced in training new hires to meet the high expectation of Ritz Carlton’s standards in only 7 days. An increase in the training period would help employees understand their role in achieving the key success factors and creating the ‘The Ritz Carlton Mystique’.

By lengthening the 7 day countdown the service could become flawless which in turn could help translate the 5% dissatisfied customers to satisfied customers. This would result in occupancy going up from 80% to 88% due to increase in satisfaction level translating to $300 million.

Extending the 7 day countdown means investing in long standing excellence in areas such as employee orientation and customer oriented training resulting in increased customer engagement and satisfaction. Research on guest-spending patterns indicates that a four percent increase in customer engagement company-wide would generate an extra $40 million in incremental revenue.

Employee’s morale is boosted as they are protected from feeling overwhelmed. A longer employee engagement would also mean further decrease in the annual turnover which stood at 18%.

Adults by virtue of having lived longer accumulate greater volume, knowledge and mind-sets. It would help to have more time for the employees to o un-learn and learn new things.

Continuous improvement was absolutely critical to keep the commitment to customer for excellence in service and extending the 7 day countdown would help the process.

Would help thwart competition from ‘The Four Seasons’ by offering flawless service which can be achieved by increasing the orientation period.

Would help meet the expectations of the Millennium Partners about this hotel offering ‘great great service’ which means it expected Service par excellence.

Thus we believe that Ritz Carlton should therefore increase the length of the orientation to further ingrain service excellence in its new employees which will ensure higher productivity and foster competitiveness.

An assessment of 7 days vs 14 days training program

50% occupancy revenue = $5,000,000

Cost of the 7 day training program = $10,00,000 (estimated)

80% occupancy revenue = $8,000,000

Cost of the 14 day training program = $20,00,000 (estimated)

Benefit of the program = 3,000,000

Additional Cost = 1000,000

Return On Investment = 300%

Every investment including investment for employee training associated with cost and benefit. The cost and benefit mean cost involved in training of employees, direct revenue benefit, intangible benefits. The increase / decrease training schedule also adversely / favorably impact.

Ritz – Carlton is well known name to the industry and known for service centric approach. Initial Occupancy may not affected by training period but message of customer care approach need to be ingrained. Local culture also affects the training schedule as behavior of individual employees need to framed up in line of the global approach.

Change in hotel opening process

Change is part of life. World scenario is becoming dynamic and industry is coming up with innovative products to lure customers. In order to stay ahead in competition, Ritz – Carlton also need to think differently.

The entire training module, customer expectancy needs overhaul of the hotel opening process. The defects need to eliminate within shortest time frame.. Additional training and development will increase the cost but it will build up confidence and set new industry bench mark.

Ongoing operation is very different from the opening a new hotel. The opening hotel require two core competencies

One is dealing with the development of the site.

Human resource processes necessary to get the hotel up & running.

Ritz-Carlton regarded employees as the cornerstone of its exceptional service culture. The company understood that, as a service organization, the quality of its end product was only as good as the people providing it. Therefore it took care to see that it not only recruited the right kind of employees, but also provided them with the necessary inputs to enable them to provide exceptional service.

Although Ritz-Carlton’s salaries were not significantly higher than those of other comparable organizations in the hospitality industry, the company was a preferred employer because of its organizational culture and the way it treated its employees. Ritz-Carlton’s organizational culture not only helped the company provide exemplary customer service, but also created an atmosphere where employees felt valued.

It is difficult to train new hires to meet the high expectation of the Ritz Carlton service standards in only seven days, but it worked in Ritz Carlton. Training should not be longer which will not be cost effective in the short span of the time.

The employees already working should be given chance to in the second opening millennium to avoid taking risk at the opening itself.

Recruitment should be done for the Ritz Carlton not for the millennium because the employee can be transferred as per the requirement.

The employees of the Millennium partners can be taken for the opening, as the partner’s employees will feel proud to work jointly as a team. This will give opportunity to the partner’s employee who knows the brand & fame of the Ritz Carlton by giving the Ritz Carlton basics.

Ritz-Carlton management takes the following four steps to ensure that employees maintain the company’s high standards for quality and service

Excellence, as articulated in the Gold Standards: (i) rigorous employee selection process, (ii) employee orientation, (iii) employee training certification, and (iv) continuous coaching.

Conclusion

The service industry is becoming more competitive. Global aspirations and technological innovations are challenges for the industry. Customers are loyal to the services rather than company. The services need to revisit and provide latest offers. World’s best organizations believe in beating their own standards and developing innovating products to serve and win customer hearts.

100 % employee pride & Joy, Zero customer difficulty and 100% customer loyalty are performance criteria of performance excellence set by Ritz – Carlton Hotels. The road map created for performance excellence through strategic planning, leadership, Human resources, Processes & Systems, customer focus, information & analysis finally business results.

Employees groomed and equipped to exceed (Not meet) customer requirements. Regular updating training needs, deliverance evaluation, PDCA (Plan, Do Check, Act) and Z- back approach; unlearning – learning approach aided in meeting industry challenges.

Increasingly, it is argued that the growth of tourism had a paradigm shift from old tourism which includes inexperienced travel, mass consumption and the standardization to new tourism to face the prevailing circumstances. (Fayos-Sola,1996). The paradigm gives way to new products in the tourism industry adapted to the demands and expectations of the “new” traveler (Aparna Raj n.d, The New Age of Tourism and the New Tourists, Bundelkhand University). For instance, one of the leading branches of this industry is called ecotourism.

In line with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), ecotourism is defined as all nature-based forms of tourism in which the motivation of the tourists is the observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas.

In Mauritius, with the government’s aspiration of welcoming 2 millions of tourists by 2015, concrete measures have been implemented to promote ecotourism. A clear illustration would be the development of businesses that uses local resources and the principles of sustainable development.

However, with the fierce competition at regional and national level, the new paradigm tourism is laying much emphasis on the eco-label tourism. The term “eco” has become buzz-word (Bob Harvey; 1990) used by organization to differentiate themselves from the rivals in the market for more economic gain.

Green washing

As the new tourists are more experienced, more educated more environments conscious, more flexible and more independent than ever before (Cater and Goodall, 1998; De Villiers, 1990), since 1990s a new strategy is being used by businesses to exploit their marketing potential. This is known as “green washing”.

In other terms, green washing refers to the false advertisement of a product that claims to be eco-friendly and in reality is not.

In today’s marketing world, companies are spending billions of dollars through advertising images and cosmetic changes. Undeniably, the concept of green washing is present in many fields. One of the famous domains is ecotourism as by definition is the managing of natural areas with conservation purposes. Knowing the difference between “real” ecotourism and marketing hype can often confusing.

As Mauritius is dedicated with incredible opportunities and exciting landscapes for ecotourism development in terms of chalets residences, hiking, trekking, quad biking, mountaineering, bird and dolphin watching, several attraction sites have been selected to identify where genuine ecotourism is practiced.

The Black River Gorges National Park as an Eco Tourism Spot.

The most visited site for nature lovers that is being promoted as an eco-tourist spot in Mauritius is the Black River Gorges National Park; which can be considered as a few of the rarest wild rainforest in the world. It contains 6,754 hectares of wildlife that is more than 250 varieties of plants and nine kinds of birds which are endemic to Mauritius including the famous pink pigeon, which was nearly to extinction. The park covers also 3.5% of the island which is located in the South west area. It is also very reputed for having and extraordinary natural beauty which is the Alexandra waterfall and it is an ideal background to the hills of Black River Gorge.

Black River Gorges National Park can be considered as a pure Eco Tourism spot in Mauritius as we have a minimize people who go hiking through the park. It also has low impact on the environment there are no roads and the most recommended means to visit the park is by foot as there are only hiking trails which can be found in the official map or you make request the guidance of someone experimented (a guide) and who knows the trails and the flora and fauna of the site. The best period to stop over the National Park is during the flowering season which is from September to January. You can come across the exceptional Dodo Tambalacoque, the black ebony tree and wild Chinese guavas which is very common in this region. Those who are passionate about bird, they must keep an eye of the endemic birds of Mauritius like the Mauritius kestrel, echo parakeet for examples.

Furthermore, with the revenue obtain from tourist industry there are some funds which goes directly to the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation which acts like a protector and conservator of the Mauritian wildlife and natural scenery (fauna and flora) found in Mauritius. They protect these living things for all time, while helping visitors enjoy the landscape. You are invited to the experience of a lifetime. For example, you can expect to see the peculiar, umbrella-shaped Bois de Natte trees, which are often draped with orchids, fems and lichens. Although a same amount of visitors see the native birds, you can rest assured that the Pink Pigeon and Mauritius Kestrel are slowly rebuilding their numbers deep in the forest.

There are guided safari tours and day tours that visit ecologically-rich places so we need experimented guides and local guides as well; so it helps creating jobs for local people and helps in the social development of the region. There is an information centre to help visitors during their visit and to teach them a little more about the Mauritian flora and fauna. It opens from 9-3pm Mon-Fri 9 clock-4pm Saturday and Sunday and is located at the western entrance of the park, south-east at about 5 km from the Black River.

Casela Nature Park as an Eco tourism Development site

Casela Nature and Leisure Park extends across 14 hectares which is full with abundant old trees on a mild incline located in the West part of Mauritius between Flic n Flac and Tamarin village. It is one of the most interesting places to where you can stop over during holidays as you will see lot of animals and enjoyable as there are numerous activities. The park was originally created as a bird park, which included 90 aviaries compelling 1500 birds of 150 species. Currently it entertains quite a lot of other animals also namely Mauritian Macaques, lemurs, tigers, lions, Zebras, ostriches, massive tortoises, etc. Casela actually extends several possibilities to be in contact with wild animals and enjoying the stupendous experience of wildlife photography on a Mauritius holiday trip with your loved ones.

In Casela Nature and Leisure Park there are attractions for store of all age groups particularly the children will be delighted with the opportunity of caressing animals from the petty farm and they can also give food wallabies and pigs. The most indispensable and agreeable instant can be spent by petting zoo where infant deer can be enriched with milk; you can also come across chickens, ducks, ostrich, goats and many other little animals that can be fed there. For older ones there are activities like bike safaris, zip lines, the segway, where the visitors can find untamed boar, deer, and exotic birds. It can as well give the people the possibility to take pictures and enjoy the wild photography.

However Casela is another form of Eco Tourism, it is not a pure eco spot as we have bike safari, photo safari by bus, animal in cages and so on. But they respect a little the environment and cultural practices (Martha D. Honey, n.d). They are very involved in the protection of animals and old plants that are found in the surroundings. They also ensure that it provides a positive experienced for both the visitors and the host. While the host because it creates job opportunities, the development of the village and when the company invests in CSR projects.

Ecotourism can resume to travelling and contributing financially to local people and reduces to the minimal impact on the natural resources.

Valley de Ferney

Valley de Ferney, a nature reserve, is situated in the South East of the island; spread over 200 hectares tending to preserve the natural forest of its vicinity. With the uniqueness of its biodiversity, it accommodates more than 100 species of endemic plants.

Valley de Ferney can be a considerable reference for raising community awareness and providing educational experience with regards to biodiversity conservation and environmental protection

An establishment of a conservation Trust, mainly at Valley de Ferney Conservation Trust, since 2006 has taken place between the Government of Mauritius and CIEL Group.

This Conservation Trust main aim is to restore, protect and preserve the original fauna and flora of the Valley and respecting the rules of National Parks and Conservation Service.

The promotion of ecotourism at Valley de Ferney encourages people of the local community to consider Ferney Forest exceptional biodiversity.

The natural preservation Trust for the sake of ecotourism helps into the prevention of deforestation off the Valley.

Natural Resource Management

With regard to eco-touristic site management, Valley de Ferney Co. Ltd and Ciel Group are bided by the Valley de Ferney Conservation Trust to ensure their effectiveness in day to day management and good functioning of the site. They both ensure by collaborating to the management and not to disruption of trails and native habitats as well as litter.

In addition to fulfilling its mandate of promoting environmental sustainability, both Ciel Group and Valley de Ferney ensure that most employees are well trained so as to be able to offer a good quality of information, services and preventions guides. They also ensure that no large numbers of visitors enter the Valley, so as the natural habitats not to become disrupted.

Ile aux Cerfs (Deer Island) activities

Ile aux Cerfs (Deer Island) is very famous for its recreational activities on its beautiful sandy beaches It is also where the hotel Le Touessrok holds the concession, found on the eastern part of Mauritius the island is said to be part of the national heritage but the principle does not reflect the real will of those occupying it, the green washing aspect of the island is that campaign of “awareness and preservation” of the island’s ecologic side has been raised to but how far applied. About Rs 14.5 million revenues will be generated to preserve the island each year in order to keep it in a supposing good shape.

The deep truth

According to the most read, “Le Mauricien newspaper”, the green marketing behind is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization’s aims and policies are environmentally friendly. The invasion of catamaran cruises or ferry boats transfer on a 24/7 basis are causing more than a harm to the island and its ecology whether on land or at sea. The island or party island has lost its charms and is no more what it should be or should have been. This abuse of the islands landscape is causing its death and the tarnishing of an historical land site, which is being under too much exploitation leading to severe environmental degradation, the two restaurants present on the island as well as the various barber queues that do take place everyday there contributes a lot to the islands degradation of nature. Hence it has no regards to the concept of ‘Maurice Ile Durable’.

Normally a business tends to fall in the green wash due to an increase of sale on the market. The same applies here concerning Ile aux Cerfs, portraying the idea that they are environmentally concerned but in reality neglecting ecology at large thus moving rapidly on the path of unsustainability.

Dolphin watching activities

As compared to another activity like the dolphin watching on the western part of the island at Tamarin or Le Morne ,the preservation of these aquatic animals are mere publicities to attract tourists and with the aim of an lucrative purpose, green tag to dolphin watching activities are simply a mask to prevent people from witnessing the truth. That is ecological damages like noise pollution and environmental disturbance like the releasing of petrol from the boats are good examples of how the environment is being degraded. This phenomenon of green washing existed since the island started to be economically fit and available on the tourist market

The activities on land or at sea

In both cases, that is whether on land or at sea ,green wash phenomenon is present and cannot be omitted .The lucrative mind set in businesses are making natural sites being tag with a green wash name on them.

Carnival Corporation is the largest and most successful cruise lines in the world. Their corporate offices are located in Miami, Florida with over 91,000 employees with offices all over the world. It all started in 1972 by Ted Arison who had a vision to create the greatest cruise line in the world. Carnival slowly started to grow and over time was awarded “The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line”.(Carnival, 2006) On 1987 the management team decided to take advantage to its well-known reputation and went public entering in the New York Stock Exchange as CCL.

Today Carnival has added over 100 ships and acquired premium cruise lines in almost every sector of the industry. In 1989 Holland America Line was acquired by Carnival adding niche operators including Windstar Cruises and Alaskan/Canadian cruise lines. In 1992 several luxury liner, where acquired such as Seabourn and Europe’s largest operator Costa Cruises. Carnival was not done expanding and in 1998 they acquired the prestige’s luxury operator Cunard who built the world largest ocean liner Queen Mary 2. (Carnival, 2006)

Carnival Corporation was beginning to take shape, but on 2003 they successfully merged with Princess Cruises creating a global power house. Carnival also purchased P &O cruises, Ibero cruises and AIDA Cruises lines. Carnival had become the largest cruise operator in the world from US to Europe. Although Carnival managed several cruise line operator each line had its own distinction and separate operations.

In 1972 Ted Arison owner and operator of all Carnival had a vision. Ted story begins when he took a small ship called the Mardi Gras and converted it into a small ocean liner. The Mardi Gras was an innovative cruise liner like no other for its time that only made a one-way trip from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Carnival, 2006) Although it wasn’t easy surviving, Ted Arison was focused to be successful and on 1974 he became full owner of Carnival cruise line.

Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO & Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tier is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013)

Carnival’s overall goal is to collaborate all its brands to reach every area of the cruising industry. Carnival’s main focus is to attract all types of customers who are in different demographic, budgets, geographic and all cultures. The main concepts that Carnival tries to achieve is to be known as “Fun Ship”, along with all the amenities that go with it such as Luxury, elegance and exotic destination. (David, 2013)

Carnival has invested in their own marketing division, were they offer a 10% commission to their travel agents and offer other bonus programs. The marketing division has focused on marketing material, advertisement, website interaction, seminars and videos. These efforts are too assist agent in the field to generate more sales. Their website division has created promotional campaigns that offer discounts, VIP savings, resident discounts, special meals, and holiday deals. (David, 2013)

Carnival domestic and international destinations are growing. New routes are being developed and new ships are being built. Traveler’s most appealing destinations are the Caribbean, Alaska, Bahamas, Hawaii, Mediterranean/Greek Island/Turkey, Bermuda, Europe, Panama Canal and least appealing West coast of Mexico.(David, 2013). Competition is growing among the other cruise lines and more theme based environment is beginning to evolve. For example, onboard amenities are being created such as cell phone access, entertainment, villas, multiple themed restaurant, fitness center and spas are making this industry competitive. (David, 2013)More and more people are cruising and more bigger and better luxury liners are being built around the clock. Carnival is the leader in the industry but it must not lose their edge because competition can knock them down to second place.

Executive Summary

Carnivals Mission statement is to be the world’s largest cruise operator that offers exceptional customer service to all its clientele. Carnival’s number one goal is for its passengers to have an memorable experience and to continue to travel on Carnival. Carnival would like to offer its clients a One-stop shop for traveling. Carnival has eleven different Cruise lines around the world that can make that happen.

Despite of economic down turns of the tourism industry; Carnival has continuously grown and expanded their portfolio of cruise line brands. Carnival Corporation has ten cruise lines with one hundred active vessels. In its portfolio of cruise line, Carnival has been able to generate nine percent revenue and delivering new ships each year. Carnival growth strategy has allowed the company to achieve a four percent increase in revenue growth and maintain the largest and most profitable travel company globally.

Since its public offering and forty years in business, Carnival has managed to acquire multiple cruise lines that cater to the global travelers. Carnival’s global expansion is now reaching out to travelers in North America, Europe and Australia. Carnival cruises continue to offer itineraries products around the world and offer all types of entertainment including excursions. Carnival continues to venture into regions that are untapped markets, such as Asia to increase market share.

Cruise industry has many competitors trying to take each other’s market share. The few players who compete with each are Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebration Cruise line, Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises. Each company has its own niche and advertises in a certain clientele. With an all-inclusive themes cruise liners are beginning to distinguish themselves by the type of services they offer. The industry trend is to create massive ships that allow cruise line to offer more activities that can generate additional revenues to the cruise company. Today the Cruise industry is growing and more ships are currently in production. Cruising is now a major player in the traveling industry and more and more people are cruising today. Market conditions for the cruise industry is growing and for the last five years the cruise industry has been growing at 8% each year. (Cruise tourism, 2010).

Internal Assessment (A)

After reviewing three years of Carnival 10k data from Financial Statement and Balance sheet, we can see that Carnival is the biggest cruise line operator in the world. The analysis of ratios is broken up into five segments including, liquidity, activity, profitability, asset management and leverage. Within these segments you can see the company’s current ratio to total debt to assets. This data indicates the company is strong and sound.

Under the current ratios you take the current assets divide by current liabilities which include cash, accounts receivable and short term investments. Carnival shows a down trend of liquidity from 2009 to 2011. When you look at the current ratios, you see that in 2009 the current ratios were 0.31. In 2010 there was a 0.09 drop which left them with a current ratio of .22, and in 2011 you only see a .01 drop which left them with a current ratio of .21.

Carnivals receivables turnover shows an increase in the ability to extend credit sales and collect receivables as the years progressed from 2009 to 2011. Carnival has a successful rate on collecting receivable. In 2009, Carnival had an Accounts Receivable Turnover of 37, had increased by 27% for a total of 47 in 2010. During 2011 you see a 30% increase in accounts receivable turnover which left them with a ratio of .61 in 2011. Carnival shows they are able to extend credit and collect in a 30 day timeframe.

Looking at Carnivals Return on Asset percentage, you can see in 2009 ROA came in at 4.86 has an increase of 0.46% in 2010 for a total of 5.32% and incurred a slight decrease. In 2011 the total ROA came in at 5.02%. Under the Total Assets Turnover (TAT) you see Carnival shows an increase during 2009 -2011. In 2009, Carnival had a TAT of .37, an increase of .02% in 2010 for a TAT of .39, and in 2011 reflected another .02% increase for a TAT of .41. Based on the ROA and TAT comparisons, Carnival maximizes their assets and the number shows an upward trend.

When you look at the Operating Profit Margin (OPM) on Carnival you see margins have been declining through the period of 2009-2011. Carnival had an OPM of 16% in 2009, 16.22% in 2010 and a decrease in 2011 to 14.28%.Net income by percentage of sales declined for Carnival from 2010 to 2011 by 1.56%, while they only saw a gain in sales of .37% from 2009 to 2010. Now, when you look at earning per Share (EPS), as a shareholder these numbers would indicate how profitable the company can be which Carnival had EPS of 2.24 in 2009, and increase in EPS of 0.23to total 2.47 in 2010, and a slight decrease of .05 in 2011 to total 2.42. Stock holder for Carnival would probably want to hold onto their stock as it shows a consistent trend.

Overall, Carnival has lower liquidity ratios and has much better management of its assets, relies less on debt to finance its assets. Carnival has higher price per earning percentage for 2011. When you look at stock price history, Carnival has a consistent price in the $30’s price range. After looking at all ratio’s from Liquidity Ratios, Leverage ratios, Activity ratios, Profitability ratios and growth ratios. Carnival has great management of its assets and it is stable for investors.

Internal Assessment (B)

Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO & Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tiers is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013)

If you look at the organization chart Carnival Management team, you see the hierarchical of the line relationship of the chain of command. Carnival runs an effective organization but I would recommend a different approach. The Chain of command will start with the CEO which looks at the overall executive team. The tier below would be Chief operation officer which will manage all internal departments such as Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Operations. On this same line of command you have Chief financial officer which will manage the accounting department along with the controllers. Next to the CFO you have president of Cruise lines this position will oversee all the regional directors. The next tier down would be American cruise director which will manages all Domestic cruise lines and a European cruise director which will handle all international cruise lines. The next tier down would be the Presidents of Carnival US, Holland America and Princess Cruises. On the same tier you will find Presidents for Aida, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Cruises, Cunard and Seabourn. These Presidents will manage all the lower level management such as the Vice Presidents and Managers. This organizational chart has a chain of command that manages all levels of the company. The power of executive has more upper management to the managers and this way there is a clear communication channel to the top. The current organization chart doesn’t have a chain of command that manages the entire company and all its divisions.

When comparing Carnival from its competitors such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney you can see where these cruise lines compete with one other. The Profile is broken up by four categories, High Customer Service, Low Customer Service, and Expensive to In-Expensive. Customer Service is large role when it comes to cruising. Prices also play a major role when it comes on choosing a cruise line. I compared all four companies on a 4-7 day cruise to the Caribbean departing from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral. After comparing the reviews and prices of all four cruises, the most expensive trip was Royal Caribbean. Oasis of the Sea is one of the largest ships cruise ship in the world with a rating of 88% in customer satisfaction and pricing ranging from $749 to $1599(not including taxes, port fees, off season). Travelers rated Disney Dream cruise of 84% with pricing ranging $480 to $1900(not including taxes, port fees, off season, 4 night cruise). Critics gave Carnival Dream a 75% rating with pricing ranging from $299 to $749(not including taxes, port fees, off season).The last company evaluated was Norwegian Epic receiving a 72% rating with prices from $429 to $899(not including taxes, port fees, off season).

Carnival Strategies is to compete by offering the most affordable all inclusive entertainment travel experience anyone can have. Carnival Cruise Lines has 24 ships in its fleet. Carnival purchase used ships and refurbishes them with new enhancements. By doing this Carnival is saving millions of dollars and is able to keep costs low. Another strategy carnival does is that it purchases large amounts of fuel when price of oil is low. Carnival marketing strategy is to brand their name as the fun ship; people are drawn to affordable traveling that has tons of fun. The advantage that Carnival has is that it’s the largest cruise operator in the world. This allows Carnival to have negotiating power politically, along with negotiating new ports or to expand smaller ports. This allows Carnival to increase their ship line and increase demographic reach. The disadvantage is that Carnival is known as the cheapest cruise line with refurbished ships that cater to the masses.

Royal Caribbean strategy is to focus on purchases newer ships. By doing this they are building on their name brand recognition and promoting value to all of their luxury lines. Royal Caribbean disadvantages are that they have expensive ships that need to generate a high return on investment. Another disadvantage are fuel cost this can really affect the profitability of the company. Royal Caribbean main goal is to dominate the cruise industry with one name brand at a time.

Norwegian Cruises line strategy has around 8% market share in industry and growing. The advantage Norwegian has is that they have 13 ships in there fleet. There demographics is growing from North America, Hawaii, Alaska and Europe. Norwegian disadvantages is that there fleet of 13 consist of older to new ships which requires frequent renovations. Having older ships can affect the name brand recognition of Norwegian for having an image of having old ships. Overall Norwegian Cruise Lines has many good attributes that they have introduced, such as casual dining & variety of restaurants and Las Vegas shows. These are popular themes that the industry is following.

Internal Assessment (D)

Carnival’s value is to offer world class service at a fraction of the price. The “Fun Ship” is there motto and that is what they would like to be known for. They spend countless hours trying to create activities that all of the passengers would love and enjoy. Carnival’s number one goal is for all its passengers to have a memorable experience and to return back to its lines.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The largest cruise operator in the world with eleven cruise brands0
Carnival most profitable company in the industry.
Has established name brand recognition as the” Fun Ship”.
Carnival has negotiating powers with vendors, ports and political figures.
Able to purchase fuel when prices are low.
Weaknesses
Revenues are dropping.
Carnival generates majority revenues in North America which means economy can affect the company.
Currencies devaluation.
Long term debt on new ship construction.
Opportunity
There is still market share in the vacationing market.
Bigger ships are being made that carry more people.
Asia is an untapped market.
Threats
US Tax loopholes may be expiring
Cap and Trade
Accidents on the ships
Security of the ships from pirates.
Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix
Internal Factor
PESTLE Analysis
Political / Government

Ongoing relations with Politicians and cruise line operators are essentials. Politicians are directly involved on expanding and creating ports, taxes, environmental fees, trade restrictions and tariffs. These projects need the backing from the Politicians. Without agreements with governments, cruise operators would not be able to conduct business in their countries.

Governments and Political factors work hand and hand in the cruise industry. Each countries government is in communication with the cruise ship operators from port facilitation to emergencies safety & rescue occurrences. Depending on the region, Pirates are a continuing problem. Cruise ship companies rely on local governments for protection from these threats. Government plays an important role when it comes to safety & protection.

There are mutual benefits when working together with cruise ship companies. The cruise industry offers an increase of local employment within the city and its ports. For example restaurants, hotels, taxis, theme parks, museums, shops, taxi drivers and travel guides are all positively affected. In some countries tourism brings large sums of revenues to the local city and governments. This enhances the relationship with cruise companies and Politicians.

Economic

The cruise line industry is growing at a growth rate of 8% and more people are traveling today than ever before. Many Economic factors are involved, such as clientele’s economic positions, growth in markets, currencies rates when working international and inflation plays a role. Cruise operators will be affected under management and operational levels. If the price of fuel starts to increase, then this will affect operating cost of the company. If interest rates increase then this will affect the revenues of the company. Economic factor plays a major role of the survival of the company.

Social / Cultural / Demographic

Social factors are measured by the Demographics, Population Growth and Age of their clientele. Popularity destinations and customer experiences will identify cruise industry demands. For example if a certain demographic and age, has a positive experience on their vacation. Then a positive trend will occur for that demographic and age segment. Social studies are important to the cruise industry to determine marketing opportunities on certain segments of the cruise industry.

Today cultural factors play a role when traveling on a cruise ship. There are several cultural destinations from The Caribbean, Alaska, Western Mexico, Mediterranean, Europe, South America and Asia pacific. The Caribbean is most popular cultural destination in the world and Mediterranean is next in popularity. As the cruise industry grows more cultural destinations will be available.

Demographics factors are important when conducting research and development. When conducting research they look at certain segments from Age, Income, Sex, Civil status, Occupancy, Education and Employment status. Conducting market study requires statistical data on each demographics. There are four different segments that are broken down by Luxury, Premium, Contemporary and Special. With all this information gathered, research and development can create a market strategy that will provide valuable information when creating an itineraries or new destinations.

Technological

Technological factors are important externally and internally within the company. Having good communications from management to operations is a critical factor when operating a company. Cruise companies are also looking for new technological advancement that can help improve safety occurrences. New technologies are being developed to assist the multibillion dollar industry. Due to the increase production of new ships, technologies are advancing each year. Cruise ships are looking for the most advanced Maritime technology, GPS systems and Satellite Weathering systems that the industry offers. Now that cruising has become a large part of the travel industry new and safer systems are in demand.

Legal

The Legal factors are important to the cruise industry. The cruise industry has been monitored for many types of law violations, such as employment, consumer, health and safety violations. If any cruise company is caught, violating any of these laws, large fines or criminal penalties can result from it. The legal occurrences can damage political and governmental relations. This is why Legal factors play an important role to the cruise industry.

Environment

The Environment factors have a large impact to the cruise industry. For example climate change and weather can impact the cruise industry as a whole. The cruise ships have advance weathering systems that can detect storm movement. Environmental factors must be addressed when creating newer cruise ship. Cruise operators goals are to decrease the environmental effects to the environment, thus decreasing climate change. For example reverse osmosis systems, shore power systems and wastewater systems all help decrease their environmental footprint. With pressures from Politian’s, cruise companies are forced to implement new environmental friendly technologies that can have a positive effect to the environment.

We have an increase of population size and people will have different needs to have successful healthy and happy lives. For example, a family staying with their aged parents may regard a car as a necessity to ferry his aged parents to their medical appointment. Due to growing need, without a car to provide the mobility they need, many are force to travel in a less desirable manner. Hence, we could see that the majority of mode of transportation used by most of people in Singapore is car.

Car however has led to a series of problems including air pollution, congestion and growing greenhouse gas emission because a running car’s engine produces large amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere every day. According to Katzev (2003), automobiles are also a major source of carbon dioxide, the so-called green-house gas, which many claim is the principle source of global warming. As such, we need to start as a group of community thinking about more sustainable form of transport in Singapore. One potential alternative to removing cars on the road is through car-sharing scheme. This research will focuses on the opportunities to present to Singapore through this car sharing scheme in our transportations. This is the more sustainable option in the long-run.

In 2012, there were more than 520,000 private cars registered in Singapore. The motor vehicle population in Singapore which include private and company cars, rental cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles, goods and other vehicles were increased by 1.45% from 951,307 in 2011 to 965,192 in 2012 (Singapore Police Force, 2013). Such a large number of private cars reduce the efficiency of the transport system by taking up road space that is needed by public transport and commercial vehicles. The government had tried a series of measures to reduce car overpopulation and traffic congestion by heavily taxing the purchase and use of cars as well as with recently announced that COE prices increase to reach more than S$95,000. However, this had the unintended effect of pricing out people who are in need of a car as does not table the problem of overpopulation. This is because as the population grows, the numbers of cars on Singapore growth will continue to grow.

The need of Singapore transportation become more sustainable

In Singapore, despite there are a lot cars on the road, we need to decrease cars on the road to make the transport more sustainable, one potential ways by doing this is through car-sharing scheme. Singapore is a small island city-state country whereby we cannot afford to ignore the effects that transport that has on health and the environment. The environment is our priority and Singapore needs to keep the environment as pristine as possible.

Our economy depends on an efficient transport system to delivery smoothly a flow of goods and personnel to where they are needed. Our limited supply of land also means that we have to allocate resources to transport system very carefully. Hence, it’s important to adopt a greener form of transport.

Nevertheless, we understand that no matter how efficient Singapore public transport system are, can never fully meet every mobility need. Despite of an excellent MRT system and efficient taxi system, alternatives are required to allow for Singaporean to make different choices about going around on the island. Car-sharing scheme is such a choice for such opportunities to remove cars on the road while still allowing people to get around as they need to.

Car-sharing scheme, a new approach to sustainable transportation in Singapore

Car-sharing is a pay-as-you-drive transportation service introduced in many modern cities to build a sustainable urban transportation strategy and environment-friendly urban community. This amazing green business idea works because people save money, and lose the hassles of ownership, yet still able to access to a car when they need one. The car-sharing growth in Singapore is mainly boosted by the rise of COE price. Higher COE prices are driving people to look for cheaper and more flexible options and therefore would able to push people towards using public transport, or opt for car-sharing.

Car-sharing allows individual to gain the benefits of using a private car without the costs of responsibility of owning a car. The benefits of car-sharing can include – more careful consideration of the necessity, duration, and distance of automobile trips, resulting in decreased vehicle use and ownership, and reduced parking demand and traffic congestion. Besides, car-sharing will be greater consideration given to alternative mode, resulting in increase of MRT passengers. Car-sharing also provide cost saving to individual and employers, energy savings and air quality benefits as well as reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. Despite to its many potential benefits, car-sharing may gain in popularity in Singapore as demonstrated by increasing North American membership.

Through car-sharing scheme, we are able to reduce cars on the road which led to less congestion, less pollution, less dependence on oil, and cleaner, fresher air to breath.

Car-sharing Operators in Singapore

There are about 300 car-sharing vehicles located in over 100 locations in Singapore. Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working closely with HDB and car-sharing operators to provide more locations across the island to make it more convenient for users to access a car-sharing service in the near future. In Singapore, currently have a few car-sharing service providers: Car Club, Whizzcar and Kah Share. Clean Mobility Singapore, an environmental start-up company that provides electric cars for hire launched in Buona Vista-Ayer Rajah area and have designated parking lots in Pixel Building, Biopolis, Fusionpolis, Insead Campus and Block 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent. Clean Mobility is part of the Energy Market Authority and Land Transport Authority’s three-year, electric-vehicle trial costing $20 million (The Straits Times, 2011). The Straits Times (2013) had reported that more than 150 people have plugged into a year-old electric car-sharing sharing scheme operated under the brand name Smove. Meantime, Kah Share, Whizz Car and Car Club have reported an increase of between 15 per cent and 35 per cent each in membership numbers (The Straits Times, 2011).

Government Intervention

Like many other cities, Singapore faces the challenge of managing traffic congestion. With a fixed quantity of road space, each additional vehicle adds to the demand of road space and increases congestions for every other vehicle and pollutes the environment. Singapore is a land of scarcity, the country does not have the luxury to allow everyone to own a car and that car ownership cannot be put under the same category as basic necessity such as housing (Channelnewsasia, 2013). As part of effort to reduce carbon emission from car, the Singapore government implemented the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) which allows the government to control the amount of cars on the road.

Vehicle quota system – The VQS is controlled by the Certificate of Entitlement. The purpose is to limiting the number of newly purchase vehicles and aims for sustainable growth in vehicle population. The buyer has to bid to purchase a COE which is valid for 10 years before the vehicle can be use on road. The government had decided to reduce the allowable vehicle growth rate from 3 per cent per annum which was the rate since vehicle quota system introduced in 1990, to 1.5 per cent per annum in 2009, and further reduced it to one percent per annum in 2012 and 0.5 per cent per annum in February 2013. The COE premiums for small cars (up to 1,600cc) breached the $90,000 mark, finishing the year’s first bidding session at $92,100 on January 2013. This is up 12.4 per cent from last month’s bidding where prices ended at $81,889. Prices for big cars in Cat B (above 1,600 cc) also reached a new high, ending at $96,210. The previous record-breaking price was $94,502 in August 2012 (icarsclub, 2013).

Figure .1: COE Open Bidding Result (Source: sgcarmart.com, 2013)

Taxes and fees on vehicles – Every car in Singapore is taxed by an import (Customs) duty, registration fee, an additional registration fee, and road tax which make owning a car in Singapore very expensive. The import duty is 31% of the import value of the car, on top of that, a Registration Fee is charged for private cars and on top of that, an Additional Registration Fee (ARF) is charged. The (ARF) is 100% of the Open Market Value (OMV) of the vehicle.

Public parking charges have been raised and also additional surcharges were levied to discourage car use. Others cost such as insurance, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), petrol and maintenance cost which are extremely costly for an average earning individual and thus it helps to control car population. Hence, implementation of government regulations with soaring premiums for COEs, taxes and fees or charges, it had directly boosted the use of car-sharing for the people who need to travel around the island. For a successful car sharing scheme in Singapore, Singapore government has to play its part in addressing the problems of climate change and looking at ways and measures to reduce our emission.

Research Question

Our research will focus on the primary and secondary question in view of the solution to road congestion, pollution and other environmental and resource consequences of automobile dependence through car-sharing.

1.2.1 Primary Research Question

Our research question is what are the benefits and opportunities for using car-sharing scheme to make Singapore transports system become more sustainable.

1.2.2 Secondary Research Questions

The scopes that this research is focusing on:

What is car-sharing scheme and how does Car-sharing works;

What are the benefits of car-sharing scheme;

Who benefits from car-sharing scheme;

Which countries have already develop car-sharing scheme

The Scope of the Research

The study will focuses on the benefits of car sharing scheme in our transportation option for many people in meeting the transportation needs in an economically and environmentally responsible manner in Singapore.

Research Method

The research method we will be using is both qualitative and quantitative research approach. The quantitative method will be based on the research question analyses based on the current situation and analyses through literature review. The qualitative method shall be gathering information through sets of questionnaire on a focus group of employees, employers and retirees at a few point of location in Singapore.

Research Objective

The main objective of the research is to understand the problems of increasing car population which led to a serious problem of air pollution, congestion and growing of greenhouse gas emission and to identify the opportunities and benefits of car-sharing scheme as an alternative transportation mode towards sustainable form of transport in Singapore.

Limitation

This research will be discussing the benefits of car-sharing scheme using normal car and only within Singapore based on the knowledge and understanding gather from collected information sources and data. There will be limitation to forecast whether of the impact and growth car-sharing scheme by using electric car. It may impractical at this moment although electric car have the potential to reduce our carbon emission significantly if adopted on a large scale and government play its part promoting green vehicle by provide a range of incentives or rebates. However, the technology is still in the early stages of development. Beside, in order for electric car to have a positive impact on reducing emission, the energy grid empowering these cars need be from a sustainable source like solar or wind. Due to the cost of buying a hybrid vehicle is much higher than of a normal car, users, limited range of electric vehicle as well as the charging time. The information and data will be obtained from published news and journals except the information from questionnaires.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition and explanation of car-sharing scheme

Car sharing is a revolution in personal transportation – urban mobility for the 21st century. Carsharing is designed to replace car ownership for people who do not need to drive to work every day, and to significantly reduce road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. It is a service that provides 24/7 self-serve access to a network of cars stationed around the city (and increasingly, cities world-wide), which can be reserved by the hour or day via smart phones, Internet and call centres (Carsharing, 2013).

Automobile, despite its numerous benefits, is largely responsible for many of the environmental and social problems in the world today (Katzev, 2003), which Singapore is one of such countries. The dependence on automobile has contributed traffic congestion and pollution to the air of Singapore. Therefore, in order to reduce traffic congestion and reduce the environmental impact contributed by automobile in Singapore, numerous efforts have been made by the government to reduce vehicle population growth rate by increasing the Car of Entitlement (COE) prices for cars or reducing the quota for COE.

Car-sharing is first introduced in Singapore by NTUC Income in 1997 since the rise of COE prices and over the years, the interest in car-sharing has risen as car-sharing is the ticket for drivers who cannot afford or do not want to own a car (The Strait Times, 2012).

Differ from car-pooling, car-sharing is a process whereby people share or rent a car without having to bear the responsibilities of car ownership and costs. Whereas in car-pooling, it is a group of individuals taking the same car together to get to a common destination at the same time. In car-sharing scheme, the car-sharing companies pay all of the costs of vehicle maintenance, service, and repairs. This includes insurance coverage, parking, and the cost of fuel (Katzev, 2003). Also differ from conventional car rentals, car-sharing companies operate by placing cars near to member’s home or office when the needs to use the cars arise. (Martin & Shaheen 2011). The pay-as-you-drive or pay-per-use transportation service which provided by the car sharing companies offer drivers another alternative and freedom of using the car. Drivers get to enjoy the benefits of a car without having to own one for a short period of time based on their travelling needs, such as hourly or daily basis. The drivers are also allowed to choose the types of cars according to their needs.

This scheme is introduced in many modern cities to build a sustainable and environment-friendly urban community (Land Transport Authority, 2013). A research done in the North America shows that one shared vehicle can take 6 to 33 privately owned vehicles off the road. This is made possible by reducing the number of private vehicle required to complete non-work trips (Green Business Times, 2013). Hence, car-sharing reduced congestion on the road as it reduces car ownership and people dependency on privately owned vehicles. Car-sharing also has environmental impact to the environment. According to the article stated in Green Business Times (2013), ‘vehicle miles traveled by members dropped by 67%, yet they were able to maintain mobility and convenience of transportation while getting access to a wider variety of cars. The drop in vehicle miles traveled will have a huge environmental impact that results in a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from 39% to 64%’.

Since its inception, car-sharing has grown rapidly and it has become more common worldwide, especially in Europe and North America (Shaheen, Sperling & Wagner 1999). Car-sharing membership has increased by 360% worldwide between 2006 and 2010 (Carsharing, 2013) and as of January 2011, North American car-sharing companies served almost 604,000 members with about 10,000 vehicles. (Martin & Shaheen 2011).

2.1.1 How car-sharing works in Singapore

It usually takes less than 5 minutes from reserving to collecting a car-sharing vehicle and the whole process is automated and it is self-service just like having a own car. To use the car, the user can follow the steps listed below:

Join as a member

User who wishes to car-share must first join as a member at any of the car-sharing company. After which, members will receive a personal keyfob/ smartcard. The keyfob/ smartcard is use to unlock an electronic box where the car keys are kept.

Making reservation for the car

When there is a need to use the car, member can make reservation via smart phones, Internet and call centres. The reservation can be made within a few minute notice or few days in advance. The booking will be keyed into a computer and transmitted to the electronic box.

Collecting the car

The cars are normally parked near to user’s home or office in designated car park spaces. The electronic box is located in the member’s estate and the member can unlock the box when the member slots in their keyfob/ smart card. His booking particular will be copied onto the keyfob/ smart card and he can then collect the key.

Driving the car

During reservation period, member will just use the car just like his own.

Returning the car

When member has finished using the car, he needs to return the car back to the same location where he has collected the car. He also needs to place the key back to the electronic box.

The trip usage is automatically recorded and the member can view their usage record online.

Payment

The invoice is then generated and payment will be made through GIRO or credit card monthly to the car-sharing service companies.

If a member does not return the car on time, he will have to pay a penalty, which will be used to compensate the next member who had booked the car but was inconvenienced due to late return from the former member (Carsharing, 2013).

Benefits of car-sharing

Due to recent high COE, it is getting more and more difficult for one to own a car in Singapore nowadays. Some of the major social benefits of car-sharing are such as lower emissions, ease traffic congestion, convenience and cost savings for individuals and businesses, better utilization of land and energy resources and reduce the demand for car park spaces.

2.2.1 Less pollution to the environment

Motor vehicle usage is a major source of air and noise pollution in the world today. It has contributed 70% of the carbon monoxide, 45% of the nitrogen oxides, and 33% of hydrocarbon emissions in the world (Katzev, 2003). The combustion process of fuel in motor engines emit Carbon Monoxide (CO) will not only pollute the air quality, it also harm the human body through respiration (Sing Health 2013).

Motor vehicles are also a major source of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which many claim is the principal source of global warming (Katzev, 2003). Besides carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are also released from the combustion process of fuel in motor engines. These gases caused global warming to the Earth which the temperature will increase and trap the radiated heat from escaping out (Nutramed, 2011).

In the United State, low emission motor vehicles contribute to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. AutoShare and U Car Share offer additional greenhouse gases reductions through partnerships with carbon-offset companies. Many customers report an increase in environmental awareness after joining a carsharing organization (Shaheen, North American car-sharing, 2008).

Noise pollution is also an issue to the environment. With more motor vehicles on the road, the noises created from the engine revolutions can be a nuisance to the environment. Especially during traffic congestion, the noise level can be high and it may disrupt the concentration of one’s mind.

With fewer vehicles on the road through car sharing, the level to Carbon Monoxide (CO) will eventually be reduced, thus causing lesser carbon monoxide emitted to the environment.

2.2.2 Less traffic congestions

http://driving-in-singapore.spf.gov.sg/services/driving_in_singapore/images/information/traffic_statistics/fatality.jpg

Figure .1 : Fatal and Injury Accident Rate Per 10,000 Vehicle Population (Source: Singapore Police Force, 2013)

Car-sharing helps to tame traffic because it reduces solo driving (Wang, 2011). According to the graph, Singapore has an increasing figure in vehicle population by 1.45% from 951,307 in 2011 to 965,192 in 2012 (Singapore Police Force, 2013). This is a great number for Singapore as our country is limited in land area and the increasing vehicle population creates more traffic congestions.

Traffic congestion is an increasingly serious problem in many cities. For example United States, traffic tie-ups, especially during peak hours timing, are estimated to cost the United States 1.2 billion hours of lost time and 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline each year, to say nothing of the estimated $30 billion annual loss in productivity alone (Katzev, 2013).

Due to the increasing numbers of motor vehicles on the road, the danger faced by the road users, especially motorcyclists are still an issue. Despite last year’s drop in the fatal and injury accidents, there are still a significant number of deaths on our roads. The increase in the number of traffic violations remains a concern as every traffic violation can potentially result in a fatal or injury accident and the loss of lives (Singapore Police Force, 2013).

As an alternative measure of reducing the amount of vehicle population, car sharing can provide road users with a choice. Some of Singapore car sharing companies such as CarClub provides to their customers a wide variety of motor vehicles to choose from to cater for different kind of occasions (CarClub, 2013).

Because the drivers of the car sharing scheme are charged accordingly to the amount of mileage logged, therefore drivers would plan their trip carefully in order to make unnecessary drive trips.

The implementation of car sharing can also reduce the amount of motor vehicles on the road if 5 people sharing a car to the common destination rather than driving on personal motor vehicles.

2.2.3 Reducing the cost of traveling to destination

Traveling to a destination by private vehicles can be costly. With Singapore implemented ERP (Electronic Road Pricing), It will be expensive to travel to CBD area during peak hours by personal vehicles. In addition, the cost of parking in business towers in CBD area can be costly too.

The cost of owning a private car can be a burden in Singapore. As the price of Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is hiking, a measure by the Singapore Government in order to maintain or reduce the amount of motor vehicles on the road, which can be costly. According to report, a price of a Cherry QQ in Singapore with COE can match up for a Porsche Boxster Black Edition in the US (AsiaOne, 2012); this shows how the soaring COE price has turned the ownership of motor vehicle as a huge expenditure.

Car sharing is different from rent a car from car rental, car sharing gives individuals access to a car for brief trips, in some cases as short as a half hour, charging only for the time and duration of each trip. In contrast, car rental companies charge the full daily rate, regardless of the duration or distance of travel. In addition, customers that rent a car must pay for the petrol cost required to fill the vehicle’s tank at the time it is returned, while the car-sharing companies pays all the costs of fuel, as well as insurance, vehicle maintenance, service, and repairs (Katzev, 2003).

As car sharing scheme in Singapore, drivers can save amount money on the cost of owning a private motor vehicles including maintenance fees, annual road taxes and motor vehicle insurance payable. Car sharing not only offers to non-car owners the driving experience; it has also offers a much cheaper alternative to travel to their destination that in private motor vehicles.

Car sharing has also provided Singapore a much cheaper alternative to travel than by taxi. Traveling by mode of taxi can be expensive. The rates and surcharges can add up to a high cost.

Surcharges such as peak hour charges, midnight charges and location charges are included in different timing and location.

Some of car sharing companies in Singapore such as CarClub provides to their customers with different price plans. CarClub comes with value plan and standard plan to cater to every customer’s needs. Value plan is cater for more for regular drivers whereas standard plan is cater more occasional drivers (CarClub, 2013). With different available price plans, drivers can choose the most appropriate plans to suit their driving frequency and save money. University students and low-income households also benefit from the flexibility and mobility that carsharing offers (Shaheen, North American car-sharing, 2008).

With the recently tightening measure by the Singapore government, it has become more difficult for low and middle income group to purchase a private motor vehicle as buyers have to foot a down payment of 40 per cent or more for a new vehicle and have a maximum of five years to service their car loans (ChannelNewsAsia, 2013). Therefore, car sharing can be a more afford to the market for low and middle income groups.

2.2.4 Better connection

Car sharing has provided users a better connection between different modes of transports, making it easier for the public to connect major transport nodes and therefore reducing the need to drive to their destination.

Car sharing can provide better access to place where has limited access. For example, HDB residential area where the distance to the nearest public transport node is far away, it may be difficult for elderly or disabled people to travel.

Motor vehicles in the car-sharing fleet are usually located close to the user’s residence, whereas those belonging to the rental companies are parked in central areas or major transportation hubs. Finally, those who want to rent a vehicle are required to complete time-consuming paperwork before they can drive the vehicle, whereas car sharers need only phone or go online to reserve a vehicle prior to using it (Katzev, 2003)

In Singapore, CarClub has offered their customers with over 60 HDB car parks around Singapore to pick up the vehicles and available on 24/7 which provides ease and convenience (CarClub, 2013).

Who benefits from car-sharing?

The ultimate purpose of car-sharing are reducing the number of cars, increasing the efficiency of transport infrastructure and also changing behavior through alterations in mobility patterns. This has actually benefits to environment, social and government.

2.3.1 Environment

2.3.1.1 Creation a Potential for Better Quality of Life and Urban Form

Car-sharing has proved its potential to reduce the negative impacts of social and environment. Monitoring of air quality takes place at stations around Singapore, and plays an important role in keeping the population up to date on haze conditions (National Environment Agency, 2013). Air emissions from the industries and motor vehicles are the two key sources of air pollution domestically (National Environment Agency, 2013). Each car-sharing vehicle can replace 4 privately owned vehicles (CarClub, 2013). Thus, car-sharing reduces the numbers of cars on the road; fewer cars equal fewer emissions of greenhouse gases. This means less pollution; decrease congestion on the road as well as reducing the amount of space used for parking and helps to regain space for environmental and other social uses.

2.3.1.2 Reduction of COa‚‚ Burden of Transport

Car-sharing is a pay-as-you-drive transportation service introduced to build a sustainable and environmentally-friendly urban community. This service provides an incentive for people to use car less and instead use public transport, a bike or walk. People have a greater variety of transport options available to them as when deciding the best way to reach their destination. Commuting by public transportation reduces your carbon emissions by 20 lbs per day, 4,800 lbs per year, which is more than if you weatherized your home, converted to fluorescent bulbs and replaced an old refrigerator, combined (PromotingPublic Transport, 2013).

2.3.1.3 Reduction of Energy Consumption

An environmentally friendly car-sharing operator provides a wide range of vehicles to choose. They can choose different types of vehicles to fit their needs. Example, a small city car is usually most energy-efficient and less pollution; an estate cars are likely to be necessary for family trips; and a van may require for group travel. Users choose the vehicle type that best meets their needs for a particular trip. This benefits consumers, and may provide external benefits by reducing the use of oversized vehicles when smaller vehicles are adequate (Litman, 1999).

2.3.2 Society

Car-sharing helps make communities more alive, attractive, safe, and less dependent on the private automobile, and contribute to a range of transportation, housing, economic development and social justice goals (City Car Share, 2013).

2.3.2.1 Save Money and Go Green

Car-sharing is an ideal for people who only need a car occasionally and or when the need arises. By car-sharing scheme, people still can access to a private car without having responsibilities of ownership such as obtain a Certificate of Entitlement (COE), car insurance premium, car maintenance and repair costs, monthly installment, season car parking charges and road tax. In Singapore, 87% of members in NTUC’s car-sharing co-op average only 2,000km in distance driven each year, which is much less than average mileage of the average private car owner (Singapore Environmental Vision, 2013). Car sharing saves you money, it’s greener, more affordable, and less stressful than driving and paying for a car you don’t even need anymore (Cereplast, 2013).

2.3.2.2 Provide Mobility

Car-sharing provides access to a vehicle for low-income households and others without a car, helping them to fully participate in the region’s opportunities (CityCarShare, 2013). Low-income households may not be able to afford the expenses as a car ownership, thus public transport maybe their only option. Car-sharing can provide access for job interviews, serve as an “emergency ride home”, and meet the demand for occasional shopping and leisure trips (CityCarShare, 2013). With car-sharing scheme, they are now financially possible to join, in turn improving mobility by providing access to a vehicle.

2.3.2.3 Improves Commuting Options

Car-sharing offers a commuter option that may work better than other methods of transportation. With a car-sharing option, a public commuter is empowered to decide the best way to reach his or her destination, i.e. by bus, MRT, taxi or to drive a car (CSAS, 2013). Currently, there are about 300 car-sharing vehicles located in over 100 locations in Singapore (Land Transport Authority, 2013). It is very convenient for users to access a car-sharing. Also, car-sharing provides the flexibility and convenience of a car when driving is a better choice compared to the buses, MRT or taxis.

2.3.3 Government

Transport issues affect the average Singaporean in a very intimate manner.