PolyU Releases Report on 2010 Tourist Satisfaction Index

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) recently released new findings from the PolyU Tourist Satisfaction Index (PolyU TSI), a year after its launch.

Spearheaded by Professor Haiyan Song, Chair Professor of Tourism at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM), this pioneering project has created a comprehensive system to provide authorities and industry personnel with much needed information for decision making and planning.

The PolyU TSI measures the satisfaction levels of Hong Kong inbound tourists across six tourism-related sectors and integrates them into an overall index. The sectors that have consistently excelled in service performance are transportation, attractions and immigration services. Hotels, restaurants and retail shops also show good results and have managed to exceed the expectations of the tourists.

The PolyU TSI for 2010 is 73.94, which is higher than last year. Although the majority of sectors show a slight decline in performance this year, the overall result has improved. This is due to the improved performance of the transportation and attractions sectors, both of which contributed significantly to the satisfaction levels of inbound tourists.

A growing international network of destinations is developing tourist satisfaction indices. Besides Hong Kong, destinations that PolyU is now adopting include Macau, Singapore and Shenzhen. Overall, the tourism industry in Hong Kong is competitive and performs consistently well across comparable sectors.

Professor Haiyan Song believes that with the PolyU TSI, Hong Kong is able to determine its performance and competitiveness as an international tourism destination relative to others, allowing it to identify strategic areas for improvement. “The SHTM is proud to support its industry in this way, and looks forward to the added well-being the PolyU TSI will help bring to community,” he said.

PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management is one of the world-leading providers of hospitality and tourism education. It is ranked No. 2 in the world among hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009.

With 60 academic staff drawing from 18 countries, the School offers programmes at levels ranging from PhD to Higher Diploma. It was awarded the 2003 International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators Institutional Achievement Award in recognition of its significant contribution to tourism education, and is designated by United Nations World Tourism Organisation as one of its global Education and Training Centres.

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