Sustainability in the China Tourism Supply Chain: A Pilot Study

1. Sustainability in the China Tourism Supply Chain: A Pilot Study Byron Keating & Anton Kriz (Uni. Newcastle) Background Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an organisational philosophy that directs firms to consider and minimize the social and environmental impacts of their profit making activities. Increased concern with issues such as global warming and climate change has seen CSR thrust into the international spotlight. As firms struggle to balance economic growth with their environmental responsibilities, CSR has been adopted as the vehicle to manage and report on the social and environmental impacts of their commercial operations. In recent years, firms have embraced the importance of working collaboratively with their supply chain partners to enhance their CSR performance. This stems from the recognition that supply chains are comprised of inter-dependent units that can influence the reputation and performance of one another. Accordingly, firms have begun to develop strategies that extend traditional corporate governance processes beyond the firm boundary to their supply chain partners. The most visible indicator of this extension is the emergence of CSR oriented purchasing strategies—wherein firms reduce their exposure to risk by prescribing a set of standards that suppliers must meet in order to win their business. We believe that the field of tourism can assist in this regard. China’s international tourism industry provides a unique setting in which to address this challenge, as a significant portion of travel from China controlled by the Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme . Because partner countries (like Australia) depend greatly on China’s outbound tourism market, we believe that these countries would be more responsive to CSR related tourism policies from China. The structure of the tourism export sector (i.e., inbound tourism) also provides an excellent opportunity for China policy-makers to become better acquainted with CSR related issues for minimal effort and expense. This is because the burden of implementing such an agenda will fall largely on intermediaries operating in the partner countries, in effect, removing many of the barriers that inhibit the adoption of CSR practices in other export industries. Project Aims Identify a set of key drivers that can be used to understand attitudes towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) within China's tourism supply chain; Develop a conceptual model that examines the inter-relationships between these drivers and apply this model to investigate the CSR orientation of travel intermediaries servicing China's inbound travel market; and Assess how supply chain intermediaries trade-off between economic, social and environmental drivers when making CSR choices, and whether demand- and supply-side tourism intermediaries are aligned in their CSR preferences. Methodology To begin, we conducted interviews with 60 travel intermediaries in Australia and China to identify key CSR drivers (stage 1) and develop the conceptual framework (stage 2). A survey of 50 travel intermediaries in Australia and China was then conducted to understand the relative importance of these drivers. The respondent profiles reveal some interesting differences in the profiles of the Australian and Chinese travel industries, with the Australian industry dominated by older, less educated men. Though the average length in business for the Australian and Chinese respondents is similar (around 20 years), the Australian firms appear to be far more productive, generating more than three times the turnover of their Chinese counterparts with one tenth as many employees. The best-worst methodology used to conduct the quantitative study (stage 3) identified the relative importance of 16 key strategic drivers of a firm’s CSR orientation. Key Findings The results indicate that economic drivers mattered “most” to Australian and Chinese travel intermediaries. After controlling for economic factors, we observed a stronger affinity for social issues amongst Australian respondents, whereas Chinese respondents were more concerned with environmental issues. One of the more interesting aspects of the study is that it shows quite clearly which attributes respondents are willing to abandon first. In other words, the factors that matter “least” to CSR orientation. The results suggest that Australian firms have work to do in the areas of emissions and waste reduction if they wish to improve their overall CSR orientation. Likewise, Chinese travel intermediaries need to better balance profit against labour practices and philanthropy. Acknowledgements This research was funded by an Australian Development Research Award. We also gratefully acknowledged the assistance provided by Tourism Australia.

2. Three Tools to Capitalise on the China Tourism Opportunity Byron Keating & Anton Kriz (Uni. Newcastle) Outbound Tourism Management System The “Outbound Tourism Management System” is a firm focused tool that assists firms to understand and respond to the key considerations and processes that support travel planning and consumption by tourists. On the customer side, these processes explain the psychological stages that consumers move through as they initially respond to marketing activities, and then enact their travel aspirations and reflect on the tourism experience. On the firm side, the system views outbound tourism as a supply chain that requires the management of product, coordination of supply, and the creation of demand. At the operational level, the firm is responsible for choosing which products and services to develop, which supplier relationship to nurture, and allocate resources to ensure that the service promise is fulfilled and that appropriate post-service activity is managed. The system provides a useful checklist for firms new to export tourism. Each box in the model can be deconstructed in terms of particular markets, ensuring that firms consider the unique market characteristics and develop strategies to exploit. In the case of China, the outbound tourism management system provides a useful organising framework for gathering and actioning intelligence. Travel Episode Model The “Travel Episode Model” reflects the need for new theory that better captures the complexity of travel planning and destination choice in China. Traditional models of destination choice, developed in a mature Western context, assume a uniform linear decision making process that begins with an information search, before a consideration of alternatives, and then selection amongst a limited set of offerings. The unique political and regulatory environment in China introduces constraints that are likely to be reflected in very different travel episodes for Chinese travellers. In some cases, the choice of destination may precede the actual travel decision by many years due to visa restrictions, for others the choice of travel party can drive the timing of travel and limit the planning processes. It is also likely that tourists from different parts of China will have access to different resources, and will have different levels of travel experience. By focusing on travel episodes, this approach also allows for the identification of customer segments based on different travel patterns. This in turn, would assist with the nature and timing of marketing activites, and is likely to be far more beneficial than traditional product based and geographic based segmentation approaches. Tourism House of Quality The “Tourism House of Quality” is a destination or market focused tool. It depicts the three key considerations that are required to build a strong competitive position in China. The first consideration captures the importance of building a good foundation through effective planning. This planning includes a consideration of the key political, environmental, social and technological factors that define the China market and differentiate it from other markets. The second consideration builds on the intelligence gathered during the planning phase to establish the pillars upon which the go to market strategy will rest. Six key pillars for China include an understanding of the market, building capacity, improving access, tailoring products and experiences for Chinese consumers, building strategic relationships, and creating demand. The final consideration is about implementation of the strategy. Successful implementation requires careful alignment of products and services with key target markets. This implementation needs to be phased over time, initially starting with adaptation of existing products and services to new markets. In the medium-term, as relationships mature, these target markets will be open to niche products and exclusive, higher yield services. In the long-term, these relationships will open opportunities for growth into new markets with existing and potentially new products and services. Tool 1: Market focused Tool 2: Firm focused Tool 3: Customer focused