Trip destinations, gateways and itineraries: The example of Hongkong

Alan A. Lew, Robert Douglas McKercher

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

139 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Trip itinerary data present analytical problems because of the great diversity of routes that travelers follow and the varying significance of destinations along those routes. Most of the models that have been proposed to deal with this complexity have focused either on the total number of travelers from one country to another, or on the overall pattern of entire trips. An alternative and complementary approach is to examine the relative location of a destination within the larger itinerary pattern. Depending on their location within the overall trip itinerary, places can exhibit characteristics of one or more destination types: Single Destination, Gateway Destination, Egress Destination, Touring Destination, or Hub Destination. Data collected on international air travelers to Hong Kong exhibited the first four of these five patterns. Taiwan and Singapore residents primarily used Hong Kong as a Single Destination for short break shopping holidays and for business. US and Australian residents were the most likely to use Hong Kong as a trip Gateway and as a Touring Destination, especially as the Gateway for a trip to China, but Hong Kong also served as a Gateway for trips to destinations in East and Southeast Asia and, for US residents, to Australia. Residents of China were more likely to use Hong Kong as a trip Egress Destination than were others. Hong Kong has traditionally considered itself primarily as a 'gateway to China' and an 'Asian travel hub'. Hong Kong, and other destinations, could benefit from being more aware of their role as an Egress Destination and of their relationships with destinations that travelers visit before and after their arrival.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)609-621
Number of pages13
JournalTourism Management
Volume23
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2002

Keywords

  • Destinations
  • Gateways
  • Hong Kong
  • Routes
  • Touring attractions
  • Transportation hubs
  • Travel itineraries

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Transportation
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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