Travel Industry Management: Hawaii Amusement Park Research Paper

Executive Summary

This report is prepared for use by investors in Hawaii Amusement park who are interested to know which factors that are most influential in the construction of amusement park in Hawaii. Apart from the expansion of tourism industry in Hawaii, the tourism destinations can develop economically and the local people can experience the benefits, provided that the local culture, environment, and wild life are protected from exploitation by the park. The Amusement park will promote the idea of encouraging responsible approach towards the conservation of environment and emphasizes the importance of the welfare of the local people.

The political, social, and environmental climate of the Hawaii is considered as sensitive issue in determining the acceptance of the project. The Park aims at positive experiences for both visitors and host. It will be also creating awareness regarding environmental and cultural factors. The providers of hospitality services are expected to promote the possible recycling of the resources including the reuse of water and conservation of energy. Hospitality businesses should also encourage the economic activities in order to provide benefits of opportunities to the local people.

Active participation of the local people in the construction will be very important as it is their cultural and economic activities that are associated with the dynamic tourism industry of Hawaii are involved. Sustainable economic development in a tourism industry will achieve if the project, while exploring all the opportunities available in the present context of improved status of Hawaii. In the process of ensuring the sustainability, appreciable jobs are taken up by the locals; the amusement park should be accepted by the locals (Johnson and Perkin, 2008, p.75).

Introduction and background

Authenticity in tourism of any area must be approached with some flexibility in order to be accepted in the society. It must be perceived as an issue with multifaceted influence over the tourist, the community, the government and the environment influencing the tourism. Almost every influential factor in the life of an individual is involved in the experiences felt by the tourist. The cultural, religious, linguistic, geographical, and socio economical factors are influential in shaping the perception of a tourist about the authenticity. The most influential factors in this regard are seems to be the religious, environment and cultural factors.

When the religious faith, environmentalist and cultural leaders are the leading force for an individual or a group the perception will be entirely oriented towards the particular direction and the authenticity will be influenced by the devotion of the tourist towards the object. As far as the time and space is concerned both these factors are plating influential and decisive role regarding the success of the tourism project (Weaver and Lawton 2006, p.62).

Distance is involved in the process of tour and the distance may simultaneously involve the time also. Other factors such as culture, language, religion may also play very crucial role in deciding the success. In the context of the global economic conditions and highly dynamic information and communication technology, the tourism also has undergone tremendous changes (Johnson et al, 2008, p.75).. The transformation of cultural values to the price of a tourism product is part of the commoditization process.

This commoditization process is part of the commercialized industrial sector of tourism. Even in this context the tourist will have his/her own approach towards the authenticity of tourism, irrespective of the commercial value of the tourism product in the commercial market decided by the economic environment prevailing in the industry. Especially in the case of cultural tourism, the tourist’s attitude will not be much affected by the commercialization of the tourism product(Kelner, Leonard, Kadushin, Canar, Matthew, Ossman, Perloff, Phillips, Teres, Wolf and Meredith, 2000, p. 28).

The individual’s perception towards his own surroundings, the space, and time will be influential factor in deciding the authenticity of tourism, pertaining to the views of that individual. Personal attitude, Social awareness, perception of humanity and the universe as a whole etc influence the approach of a tourist towards the objects of tourism.

The self of the individual will be approaching the new surrounding at the tourist place in the most convenient way possible for his mind. To an extent this is possible due to the act of symbolization. Symbolically the products of tourism are approached so that such objects will have values according to the perception of the touring individual. In such cases the decisive factors are those factors which are influential in monitoring and guiding the perceptions of the individual (Johnson et al, 2008, p.76).

In almost every case of tourism, the process of modification and standardization of the cultural assets into the tourism products is involved. Such a conversion or transformation is initiated with the intention of making the cultural asset suitable for the consumption of the tourist. This process of commoditization will be advancing at an increased rate in the coming years of dynamic global economy and ever advancing technological environment. Accordingly the concepts of authenticity in tourism will also undergo changes. The faster rate of tourism as an industry all over the world and the emerging of the concept of global tourism will result in the modern approaches and trends in this field and accordingly the concepts of authenticity in tourism will also take new forms and innovative and symbolic approaches, so that the charm of tourism is kept alive in the face of advanced technological changes (Kelner et al, 2000, p. 24).

This paper will endeavor to find out the societal significance in the creation of amusement park in Hawaii. This will cover some historical accounts and importance of culture, and the contemporary societal relevance of having some sites(Johnson et al, 2008, p.76).

Resistance to project implementation

Resistance against a project is usually influence by a number of factors. Usually the human resist any project if they are involved in decision making and are not informed the importance of the project to avoid negative attitudes towards this project. If proper the implementation process does not followed proper channels, the project may face resistance and eventually collapse. The project being new and the issue of resistance not being addressed properly some members of community may opt not to turn up to their cause fear among people who will be visiting the area. Implementing a new project will require planning, organizing and monitoring the project.

The company may forget the importance of project if resistance persists and take an approach to implementation that is acceptable by all stakeholders. Project introduction must be properly managed in order for the organization to have a good result for future prosperity. This will ensure the project doesn’t face resistance from stakeholders but compliance (Weaver and Lawton 2006, p.162).

The company needs to have project implementation strategies in order to optimize the position of the firm in implementing the new project. The period between the emerging events and the consequences that follow after the project has to be clearly to be set out to allow success. Therefore the strategic response to prevailing conditions of a community must be determined and the human factors that are involved investigated (Pettrey, 2003, p. 82).

Culture and community

Cultural and moral aspects involved are closely associated with the views imposed by religious institutions involved in the different social lives. Various dimensions of cultural values amongst the social groups all over the world are influenced by various important factors such as geographical, historical, religious, linguistic, political, and legal issues. In this regard the cultural values differ significantly between the societies. Accordingly the different social groups across the word have developed their own modes of arts, paintings, and architectural models to represent their distinct cultural approaches towards life.

For example the philosophy of postmodernism illustrates the evolutionary stages of various distinct cultural values. Postmodernism spread into all kinds of arts including the painting and architecture. This spreading effect caused a movement Painting and architecture are two forms of arts which are closely related to each other. All factors which led to the evolution of postmodernism affected both the architecture and the painting simultaneously. There are many factors of historical and political importance which had influenced such an evolution (Grover, 2005, p. 45).

The cultural aspects associated with the low scale in long term time orientation, found in the culture of Hawaii is very helpful and supportive for promoting creative ideas and innovations. The resistance towards changes, in such cultures will be very much limited because of less orientation towards time and tradition(Kelner et al, 2000, p. 24).

Tourism Authenticity

In the constructivist position approach, from a property inherent in toured objects, authenticity is getting transformed into a set of socially constructed symbolic meanings. These symbolic meanings are communicated by the objects. Unlike objectivist concept, the existentialist concept is not worried about the real nature of the toured objects. While pointing out about the imaginative characteristics of the constructive authenticity, Hughes argued that individuals’ expressed commitments, resistances, and choices are influenced by the constraints and limitations of global tourism. (Hughes, 1995).

According to Cohen modern quest for authenticity is a characteristic associated with tourism. (Cohen 1972). The dualisms associated with the authenticity of tourism are closely related to the conception of boundary. The similar binary notions such as self/other and the here/there are leading to the dualistic concepts involved in the boundary approach. (Hughes, 1995). According to the objectivist approach the authenticity of tourism is presumed to be located in the remote half of these dualisms. Structure of this concept is similar to that of cultural tourism where the movement is from the familiar here to the strange there. In the point of view of definitions the authenticity can be located within a specific time, place or actor. Firm territorial integrity and strict demarcation of space are involved in the concept of authenticity. (Hughes, 1995).

By citing the example of Maori culture Taylor illustrated the concept of the boundary based on time. When the New Zealand was not discovered the existence of Mari culture was seen to be in a vacuum. As a result of tourism projects cultural authenticity is invoked, and the uniqueness of the product value is realized by the application of a distance between the subjective and objective aspects. In this case both the temporal and spatial definition of subject and object are taken into consideration. (Kelner et al, 2000).

Authenticity of tourism can also be located in specific actors. Specific actors can be individuals or collectivities. In the case of authenticity based on actors there are two forms such as: the distinction between us and them, the concept which distinguishes the subject from object. The other concept of authenticity is based on the distinctions between the authentic and inauthentic locals (Grover, 2005, p.68).

Expectations which are generating authenticity can take two forms. One is regarding the specific images of the object that is viewed. This aspect can be clarified further by citing the example of the tourists visiting the western Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Involvement of religious inspiration is important in this case. In the second form the generalized categories of expectations are applied to various sites (Cohen, 1988, p. 372).

According to Culler, the tourists perceive the authenticity as sets of idealized conceptions which are projected into one side of a dualistic space. (Culler, 1991).In terms of existential terms while defining the authenticity in tourism, the condition of the tourist is defined as the condition by which the act of touring itself is resulting in severing of any necessary connection. In the cases where there is a link between the authenticity of objects and the authenticity of self, the existential authenticity is relevant to the cultural tourism (Johnson et al, 2008, p.76).

The transformation of cultural asset into a cultural tourism product is necessitated for the consumption of the tourist. In this conversion or transformation process, the various levels such as modification, commoditization, and standardization of the assets are involved (McKercher & du Cros, 2002, p. 115).

The perception about the authenticity associated with a cultural performance or a tourism product, itself is a highly subjective concept and it may create tensions and conflicts by initiating different expectations about authenticity (Weaver, D & Lawton, L 2006).

Depending on the views of the tourist consuming the image, authenticity is constructed in many ways. The traditional western imagination of the third world influenced the strategy involved in the marketing of the concept of the ‘other’ by the travel literature through the portrayal of the local people as authentic (Ira Silver, 1993).

Cohen argues that for some tourists alienation may be the motivation factor. At the same time for others alienation may not be a motivating factor. Cohen proposed a typology for representing the difference between different tourists and the different forms of tourisms. It is a well understood fact that some tourists are motivated in search of real or authentic, but regarding their purpose there is confusion. It is not clear that whether or not for the purpose of accruing some form of cultural or social capital. It is yet to be clarified through debates. (Cohen, 1988 p.165).An authentic experience may be required by the tourist. But when the question of confrontation with reality arises, the concept is consuming and this leads to add the view of the viewer or tourist. (McKercher, B & du Cros, H 2002, p.76).

Recommendation for the success of the project

For the company successively implement the project they will need to need to do the following (Pettrey, 2003, p. 82).

1. Educate the local people of the importance of the project to the people of Hawaii especially the job opportunities to be crated.
2. Involve the residence of the locally in decision making process on how to conservation the culturally sceneries in the area where the amusement Park will be constructed.
3. Proper communication should be used to pass information on the process of the project now and then to avoid resistance.
4. Culture of the local people should be observed to ensure it success is accepted.
5. The company should hire the local people to work during the construction of the amusement park.
6. The company should set aside money for development projects in the area.
7. Above all they should implement sustainability projects in the area to convince the local people.

People favoring such project will argues that it will help Hawaii to keep its own development intact, which will help the them in days of distress regarding a supply of jobs. People boasting against such project will raises questions regarding the sustainability of their culture, the sustainability of park as the main source of tourist attraction, disturbing scenario and hostile environment of the supply source nations, availability of a cheaper alternate, political compromise or disgracing the global image of Hawaii and the possible environmental threat(Pettrey, 2003, p. 82).

Alternatives for the failure of the project

It is clear that the effective implementation project can either resisted or accepted. The main concept that needs to be understood when deciding what should be done if resistance makes it impossible, is that creativity is the key. Old concepts of how an organization should be run need to be placed on the backburner and a newer model of an all inclusive business need to be considered (Pettrey, 2003, p.78).

Alternative 1

The Company will have to team up with a local investor to invest in the project. This will be partnering with a local invest for long term success. This will make the project succeed. Strategic alliances should be formed to have the business and also to protect their core business. Strategic alliances would make more sense in Hawaii because it will be emerging markets go through a continuous phase of development. While forming a strategic alliance it is important that the companies look at mutually beneficial goals instead of individualizing them. Organizations should evaluate several dimensions of international environmental uncertainty before choosing an entry mode. Organization design changes when entering different types of markets. This partnering will move to the right direction, if the attitude towards it is very important. It must possess the following requirements (Carlopio, Andrewartha and Armstrong, 2005, p. 79);

1. Sharing of ideas- All those who have been involved in partnering should share anything positive they to the group for its success. There should be openness so as no to create doubt.
2. Trusting each other- There should be mutual trust amongst all those involved. Everybody should be free to each other without an doubt
3. Management commitment- The top-level management should be highly committed towards the partnering so that it ca succeed
4. Improving of the customer service- One of the major aims of partnering is to customer focused. They should aim at providing efficient and satisfactory services to the customer who, will be attracted into doing business with them if handled properly.

Strategic alliances involve a number of processes considered to be important. The processes considered include the customer finance operations and people. In these objectives, collaborations processes are defined and you will find issues like design of the product outsourcing configuration of the project and product development (Pettrey, 2003, p.79).

At the same if the local invest fails to succeed in convincing the people, the company will source another place near the current proposed site and come up the park there. This will also capture the target market to the sites (Carlopio, Andrewartha and Armstrong, 2005, p. 78).

Alternative 2: Sponsors as Change Agents

In the context of a business environment, the term sponsor refers to an individual within the organization who is called upon to support an important project. The role of a sponsor is so critical that they have the ability to either stop a project, determine if the project is on the correct path and basically steps the concept or tone for the direction that each project takes. There are certain projects within the bank that may have more than one sponsor working on it at a time. The reasons why a sponsor may take on a certain project make depend on a wide variety of benefits that they hope to achieve from its outcome. These benefits include (Carlopio, Andrewartha and Armstrong, 2005 p.75):

1. The reduction of certain costs
2. An increase in customer loyalty
3. Increased or improved productivity

However, if a sponsor does not take an active role in promoting the benefits of a certain project to the all of the members of society, the project will never reach its full potential. In order to make sure that the benefits of a particular project reach all members of the community thus foster Amusement Park, sponsors must take an active role and endorse the implementation of a particular project. Sponsors can openly endorse change in the following ways (Carlopio, Andrewartha and Armstrong, 2005, p. 81):

1. Promote the project and the change it brings in direct reports
2. Use their own behavior to clearly demonstrate how the change will bring positive benefits to the entire community.
3. Enforce positive reinforcements for those who embrace the change
4. Enforce negative reinforcements for those who resist the changes (Carlopio, Andrewartha and Armstrong, 2005, p. 75).

Recommendation of course of action

The culture of Hawaii has already gone a long way, from the ancestors to today’s modernized people. It cultural meaning or societal relevance also has evolved since the practice of it is a society of diverse people. Initially, cultures were considered to be important recordings of early humans’ day-to-day description of their lives. It served as significant markings that celebrated rites of passage, for instance rite of passage to manhood, religious beliefs, and other ancestral traditions and practices (Kelner et al, 2000, p. 25).

However, in today’s Hawaii the relevance of culture has changed. Despite of the many connotations and stereotypes made with some cultures, there is one thing that should be realized. Having a strong culture, just like our clothes, our hairstyles, our shoes, is a decent way of expressing one’s self. It is a way of sharing to the rest of the world our inner thoughts and feelings, and a way of communicating to other people our successes, failures, trials, and other important events that define who we truly are and in order to move forward the management of the amusement park must promise to conserve the culture (McKercher and du Cros, 2002, p.78).

Another course of action is the reduction of resistance so that the project can move forward. One of the best methods of reducing resistance is defined by Johnson and Perkin (2008) as empowering the stakeholders to bring about change in individuals and communities through the development of skills, awareness, increased confidence and distribution of power and decision making. The stakeholders in the Hawaii should be empowered through skills of what is required at the end of project. This will convince their followers develop a sense of self efficacy or feeling successful or effective at the project.

Empowerment of the stakeholders is one of the best methods as it enables people to understand and encourages them to actively participative in the project. However, one must obtain the conflict resolution skills that enables him maintain stakeholders, self-esteem, engage their ability to listen and respond with empathy, increase their willingness to ask for help in the project and lastly be able to offer help without taking responsibility (Kelner, et al, 2000, p. 48).

Another way of reducing resistance of the community in Hawaii is effective communication. Communication being the exchange of information between people may involve an entire community and company. It therefore implies that there must be an effective transmission and reception of information for communication to be effective (Pettrey, 2003, p. 82).

Due to the fact that citizens of Hawaii are of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and sets of personalities, resistance is inevitable in organizations. They occur as a result of clash of personalities, disagreement, or misunderstanding but there are appropriate ways in which they can be approached. Skillful management of conflicts encourages teamwork, reduce stress, preserve integrity and increase staff morale among other benefits (Kelner, et al, 2000, p. 48).

Again being able to recognise bias is essential in being able to hear other perspectives on an issue (Pattrey 2003, p.18). When resistance occurs, we tend to react almost immediately with anger or hurt, and not being able to stay calm to underlying the reason behind this reaction.

Conclusion

By adopting the appropriate policies and by effectively implementing them, it will be possible to successive implement the project without much resistance from members of the public. Fro Amusement park, the tourism industry is expected to be highly dynamic situation in the area. Strategic goals for the organization must be set by the planning team as per the findings of the strategic diagnosis. The accuracy of strategic diagnosis will help to identify the critical aspects and accordingly such aspects can be allotted with well defined goal in line with the goal of the business.

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