A review of “Raj Rhapsodies: tourism, heritage and the seduction of history”

A book review of - Raj Rhapsodies: tourism, heritage and the seduction of history, edited by Carol Henderson and Maxine Weisgrau, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007, xiv + 236 pp., ISBN 13: 9780754670674

A dynamic model of tourism, employment and welfare: the case of Hong Kong

The present paper uses a dynamic open-economy model with wage indexation to examine the impact of tourism on employment and welfare. Both short-run and long-run situations are analysed. It is well known that tourism converts non-traded goods into tradable goods. An increase in the demand for a non-traded good raises its relative price, which results in an expansion of the non-traded sector at the expense of the traded goods sector. This output shift raises labour employment in the short run. However, in the long run, the higher relative price leads to higher wages, resulting in a negative impact on labour employment. If the output effect is dominant, the expansion in tourism raises employment and welfare. However, under realistic conditions tourism may lower both labour employment and welfare due to rising costs. These results are demonstrated by simulating a dynamic model for the case of Hong Kong.

Price dynamics, foreign exchange and anticipated shocks in a tourism economy

Using a dynamic model of an open monetary economy, this paper examines the effects of tourism-related anticipated shocks on goods prices and foreign exchange reserves. Foreign tourists consume mainly non-traded goods in holiday destinations, converting them into exportable goods. This gives rise to a tourism terms-of-trade effect that affects the accumulation of foreign exchange. Announcements of anticipated events bring tourist visits forward, resulting in an initial underadjustment or an over-adjustment in the prices of the non-traded goods when the tourism termsof-trade effect is positive or negative. This leads to an increase or a decrease in foreign reserves in the long run.

Quotas, spillovers, and the transfer paradox in an economy with tourism

This paper examines the welfare implications of quotas for an economy that is small in terms of traditionally traded goods and has monopoly power over the trade of goods consumed by tourists. Inbound tourism converts local nontraded goods into tradable goods, creating a tourism terms-of-trade effect for the touristreceiving economy. Through this effect, quotas result in a spillover to the nontraded sector. Hence, in the presence of tourism, the traditional free-trade prescription for the small open economy is no longer valid. This lends support to the setting of import quotas. Using the optimal quota as a benchmark, we further examine the welfare effect of tied aid. If tied aid brings about an excessive supply of importable goods, then the transfer paradox of the immiserization of the tourist- receiving economy may occur.

Lost in translation : Tourism Australia's 'Where the bloody hell are you?" campaign

Where issues and crises management intersect an converge with risk and reputaiton is one of the most dynamic and challenging areas of professional communcation. This study examines how poor research lead to message  misunderstanding  and ultimately internaitonal ridicule of the national image.