What actions, if any, should be taken by the Office of Travel & Tourism Industries of Hainan Island in China to enhance attraction to not only domestic, but also foreign tourists?
The client is Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. Hainan Island is the southernmost province of China. The tropical scenery and soft beaches are the signature of this island. I will use what I learn in this semester to find optimal innovation policy for OTTI to attract more tourist.
Option#1: Establish entertainment industrial on this island, specifically, bring in casinos on this island and I think it would be great beneficial to the economy. Although Chinese government is against to gambling games, Hainan island could be the pioneer to change this policy for some reasons. First, Hainan island is an isolated island which means it is very convenience for government to prevent this gambling activities from wide spread to the mainland. Second, Hainan island could learn the successful experience from Macau and Las Vegas. OTTI could benefit a lot if this really works on this island.
Option#2: Make Hainan island to be visa-free area for foreign people. As far as I know, Jeju Island in South Korea attracts millions of international travelers each year because of its convenience visa policy.
Option#3: Establish tax-free shopping malls on the island. If OTTI could reduce the tax or even make it tax free for the clothing, it would attract more people to come.
Nan, this topic is interesting and you present three unique policy options for moving forward. I do wonder, how is this question rooted in innovation policy? You present three diverse policy options ideas. I think you can select the two most feasible, and restrict your third option to the status quo. I pose below a few questions that came to mind. I don’t have any answers for them, but perhaps their consideration might help as you further define policy options:
ReplyDelete• What types of technologies or systems might fuel this tourism, and what can the government do to promote their development?
• Is Hainan ready for demands of heightened tourism (roads, airports, hotels, energy)?
• Option 1: You present a good case for the potential of casino growth in Hainan. What, specifically, could your client support to fuel gambling onset? What types of growth would benefit Hainan residents (jobs creation, technology expansion?)
• Option 2: This is a tax policy option to incentivize tourists. Seems feasible, has worked in other places.
• Option 3: This is a service policy/service to increase shopping mall expenditure. What innovative policies/process would be linked to this mall development? For example, government could reduce property taxes for developers if they utilize only solar power from local manufacturers, enabling them to develop greater industrial capacity and capital? Are there investors interested in such construction?
I like your question and the policy options that you have developed. Since I don’t know much about the Hainan island, I can only comment based on the information that you have provided. Following are my thoughts, which you may find useful:
ReplyDeleteI think, it would be good if you keep one of the three options as status quo. Doing this helps in comparing new policy options with current policy. I agree with your option#2 that making the Hainan island visa free would make it more accessible to international tourists. One question, however, comes in mind that is the island ready for a high influx of international tourists? There must be appropriate infrastructure (as Elizabeth pointed out) and necessary security systems; security is very important considering the current worldwide security concerns. Moreover, in option#3 you suggested making the island tax-free; I think Chinese people may misuse this tax-free advantage, and therefore, the government may have to take additional measures to handle this challenge.