Destination Management
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Destination Management
Introduction
Destination management as a profession entails the design and application of domestic knowledge in organizing tours, events and other activities. Therefore, the primary qualities to be successful in this profession might include deep networking skills, broad knowledge of the local environment and the ability to liaise with national and international operators. Current trends in the destination management industry have concentrated on renovating old and degenerate historic sites and other popular abandoned locations, converting them into safe and organized areas that realize feasible economic returns.
Background
Singapore and Seoul are renowned for their strong initiatives towards renovating most of their abandoned tourism sites and transforming them into ‘trick-eye’ museums. These are museums having astonishing works of art such as paintings developed in creative ways to form optical illusions. The Red Dot Museum is the main project that will be renovated and converted into a trick eye museum.
External Analysis
Before starting the renovation of the Red Dot museum, it is necessary to assess the major reasons for the transformation. The Red Dot Museum was in a stage of falling to pieces in almost all the departments and this presented a health and safety risk for both the employees and patrons. The extent of the damage warranted the high amount of expenses and change of program within the restaurant to allow for changes. All the rooms within the Red Dot Museum have different designs and it was necessary to plan the designs according to the architecture (Mike, 2013). The new establishment will adopt a contemporary architecture in line with the designs used in most other trick eye museums in Korea and Singapore. The concept of using optical illusions to create three-dimensional art requires a balanced lighting system, carefully designed rooms and strategically selected colors for the galleries. A program will have to be developed for handling the construction activities, as it will interfere with the patrons. These changes will require a set of professional tradesmen including plumbers, painters, builders and electricians. Project management becomes important at this stage since most of the stakeholders in the Red Dot Museum have already been appointed (Lyon & Wells, 2012).
Internal Analysis
The renovations for the Red Dot Museum will require funding especially from external sources. Funding can come from several sources and the best option would be to collaborate with corporate and individual sponsors. Seeking out these sponsors will require the formulation of a solid proposal that clearly prescribes the needs of the organization as well as the breakdown in the requirements for renovation. Within the United States, large multinationals such as McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Microsoft have regularly sponsored organizations such as the Red Dot Museum that seek to preserve cultural elements within the society (World Tourism Organization, 2007).
Strategies
Renovation for the museum has the objective of increasing the volumes of tourists that visit Singapore and the establishment. One easy way of ensuring that the traffic is increased is through attracting different companies to provide various services within the premises of the Red Dot building. Some of the most financially rewarding businesses include hotels and cafes, banks, clubs and restaurants, gift shops as well as theaters. By attracting such businesses to operate from the Red Dot premises, several advantages can be realized (Krstinić, Golja & Vodeb, 2011). One, these additional businesses provide extra income for the museum which is important in developing economic sustainability. Two, by providing all the different services under one roof, these new entrants serve to increase the popularity of Red Top as the preferred tourist location in Singapore.
Another strategy that would be highly effective in transforming the Red Top Museum is an aggressive marketing and advertisement campaign. Successful tourist spots have previously achieved this status by initiating strong advertisements of their services and locations on an international platform. Similarly, Red Top should engage in advertisement on print media for instance adverts on television, posters and radio. Marketing should also be introduced on online platforms. This includes the development of a corporate website that displays all the services, rates and history of Red Top museum. Additionally, the museum should make use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Limitations
The question as to whether the Red Dot Museum should be renovated or that it should be rebuilt completely depends on several factors. There is never an explicit answer to this question. The choice of whether to rebuild or renovate will determine whether the museum will eventually realize high profit margins or make losses. The physical setting has a direct influence on the museum’s brand, patron appeal and maintenance, employee retention and operational competence (Ovensik, 2006). It is important for the Red Dot establishment to examine what they are trying to achieve before deciding the extent of renovation.
One of the most significant limitations of renovating the Red Dot Museum is the interruption it causes to the establishment’s normal operations. In addition, design solutions can be restrictive due to installed building components such as complex phasing, building systems and structure. Eventually, the Red Dot Museum will have to take up an expensive renovation program that would be implemented after official operations on the establishment are complete. Using this approach, the company will lose many finances and lose productive hours (Tribe, 2011). Another bigger issue with renovating the museum is that it would muddle, contaminate or even destroy most of the artifacts and paintings in the galleries (Dmitrović & Žabkar, 2010). Renovations are risky because the museum contains famous, expensive and very delicate works of art that will eventually be destroyed or at least defaced. Renovation also presents compatibility issues that may restrict the installation of new architectural systems. Installing a new electrical wiring or a plumbing system may be difficult in the outdated Red Dot Museum building since they are new zoning regulations as well as building codes that apply in the renovation process (Nijkamp, Matias, & Sarmento, 2011). The layout of the museum is also limited and during renovations, congestion problems may make it difficult for the changes to be effected. Little renovation can be done without destabilizing the foundations or the surrounding buildings. Lastly, the removal of historical materials may be hazardous and may need the services of a professional.
Conclusion
Tourisms spots have emerged as significant establishments that generate a large amount of revenue for the federal government and individuals. The Red Dot Museum collects revenues from many tourists that are generated in different forms: premise income, earnings from wages and shares, penalties, rates and tolls (Wang & Pizam, 2011). When visitors spend money directly, it has a constructive impact on museum profitability and increase in employment rates (Vanhove, 2011). This income is regularly circulated and re-invested in the domestic economy in a phenomenon called indirect spending. Another major effect of renovating the Red Dot Museum is that it preserves the works of art created by talented artists for future use. Trick eye museums have emerged as the modern centers for preserving works of art such as three-dimensional illusionary paintings.
References
Dmitrović, T., & Žabkar, V. (2010). Assessing tourism supply quality using formative indicators: Implications for destination management. Tourism Economics, 16, 2, 405-425.
Krstinić, N. M., Golja, T., & Vodeb, K. (2011). The trend of economic, ecological and social responsibility implementation in tourism. Tourism in South East Europe 2011. Volume 1, Sustainable Tourism: Socio-Cultural, Environmental and Economics Impact, 221-234.
Lyon, S. M., & Wells, E. C. (2012). Global tourism: Cultural heritage and economic encounters. Lanham, Md: AltaMira Press.
Mike, H. (2013). Sport, tourism and history: current historiography and future prospects. Journal of Tourism History, 5, 2, 107-130.
Nijkamp, P., Matias, A., & Sarmento, M. (2011). Tourism economics: Impact analysis. New York: Physica-Verlag.
Ovensik, R. (2006). Destination management. Frankfurt am Main: Lang.
Tribe, J. (2011). The economics of recreation, leisure and tourism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Vanhove, N. (2011). The economics of tourism destinations. S.l.: Elsevier.
Wang, Y., & Pizam, A. (2011). Destination marketing and management: Theories and applications. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: CABI.
World Tourism Organization. (2007). A practical guide to tourism destination management. Madrid: World Tourism Organization.