Measuring Returns on Hong Kong's Tourism Marketing Expenditure

Abstract

The objective of this study is to estimate the per dollar return on tourism marketing expenditure by the Hong Kong Tourism Board in major tourism markets, based on the dynamic modelling approach and cost-effectiveness ratios. The study finds that the estimated cost-effectiveness ratios for the major inbound tourism markets of Australia, China, the USA, the UK, South Korea and Singapore are positive, and that the estimated per dollar returns on tourism marketing expenditure are 9.5:1, 15:1, 2.5:1, 2.8:1, 7.2:1 and 8.7:1, respectively. The results suggest that in order to increase the tourist receipts from these markets, it is necessary to develop different and specific marketing strategies to attract tourists from each market.

Keywords

tourism promotion inbound tourism dynamic models cost-effectiveness ratio Hong Kong

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