Design and Development of Tour Packages - Perspectives from Adjunct Prof Anthony Wong

Package tours are excursions or holidays that “package” various services together to make a single “combined” trip. Commonly they combine such things as transport, accommodation and meals. They may also include the provision of a tour guide and leader. Tours can be long or short in duration and distance. They may be a one-day or overnight package, or they could be a month or more. Over the years, the functions of tour manufacturers have diversified considerably. The scope, pattern, structure, and size of tour operations have increased manifold.

Today, tour operators are faced with intense international pressure in the form of competition and to cope with that they are to design and develop tour packages to meet the requirements of the ever-demanding and sophisticated consumers. Indeed, they must have a good grasp and knowledge of the tourist generating market and the quality-price ratio of the packages they plan to introduce. Many tour operators feel that they cannot design/plan tours because they do not have adequate knowledge, skills, expertise and enough ‘something’ to accomplish market requirements.

However, if they approach it systematically, scientific and businesslike, they can plan, design, and operate tours both international and domestic. Students from Bachelor of International Tourism Management (Hons.) programme who registered for Tourism Product Design and Development & Strategic Destination Marketing and Branding modules had the opportunity to meet Prof. Anthony Wong Kim Hooi virtually, Group Managing Director, Asian Overland Services Tours and Travel, Malaysia. He shared his ideas and thoughts about this topic. Prof Anthony is the Adjunct Professor at Taylor’s University, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events and has been teaching in the academic area locally and regionally for over 40 years.

Prof. Anthony shared his vast experience of serving the tourism industry for the last four decades. He discussed different travel trends, a sudden demand for packages, the difference between packages (mass to high end), new and old-style tourists, the position of the products and some major tour packages including 7 days Peninsular nature & cultural (east-west jungle train ride), nine days cultural of Malaysia and nine days ecotourism (birds) & wildlife of Northern Peninsular form his travel business. Prof. Anthony shared useful tips : 2 Stages of Developing and Planning a Tour Package that will Ultimately Satisfy Every Tourist. The lecture series was a very insightful session for the students and provided further industry engagement opportunity.

Online Masterclass Demo for Youth Chef Olympiad

Chef Farouk Othman, Senior Lecturer from Taylor’s Culinary Institute was invited to conduct a “Live Masterclass Demo’ by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), India in relation with the Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) as everyone are confined in their home due to the pandemic. In collaboration with IIHM and YCO Chef Farouk decided to promote the classic Malaysian dish of “Roti Jala bersama Serawa Durian” to viewers across 40 countries around the world. The demonstration was viewed by over 200 viewers has excited some of them. Those who have not heard or seen durian before are happy to be able to interact with Chef Farouk and ask questions on this classic Malaysian dish.

Trends and Issues in International Event Management : Virtual Versus Live Event Experiences

Virtual events are not new but converting onsite events into remote events, within hours or days in some cases, is something unusual for some organizers. Even though onsite events provide unique advantages such as face-to-face interactions, the demand for virtual events continues to increase, especially nowadays. From live-streaming to pre-recorded sessions, more companies are restructuring their events to offer engagement-driving experiences that extend beyond a computer screen.

This has opened the door to new ways to connect people online while reducing costs and carbon footprints. However, without that face-to-face aspect, the question on how to design event experiences for the virtual event attendees is crucial. Students from the Bachelor of International Tourism Management (Hons.) programme who had registered for Trends and Issues in International Event Management had the opportunity to virtually meet Professor David Hind, President of Asia Pacific Institute for Event Management (APIEM) who shared his ideas and thoughts about this issue.

Professor David Hind is an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Business and Management & Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia; Distinguished Professor Chung Hua University, Taiwan; Managing Editor of the Asia Pacific International Events Management Journal; Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Event Industry Academy; Chief Executive of the Travel Industry Academy Ltd; over 30 years’ experience working in the tourism, events and hospitality industries in the UK and overseas and networking with senior industry and education executives in particular extensive events, tourism, and hospitality experience in S.E. Asia.

The webinar discussed the trends and issues in virtual events, live events, and hybrid events. Using the successful 1st Asia Virtual Event Conference (AVEC) as an example, Prof. David shared valuable tips on how to organize successful online events, emphasizing the elements to focus when designing the event experiences for virtual audience, the importance of event technology, the challenges faced by virtual events and how virtual events can never replace live (physical events). Prof. David also shared his thoughts on the expected trends of virtual events for some types of events that will be continued and the future of live events (post Covid-19). Prof. David believes that there will still be a demand for live events in the future. The webinar was a very insightful session for the students based on the positive feedback received from the students.