Economics for Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Case Study

Economics for Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure - Case Study Example Due to Guam’s close association with the economy of Japan, misfortunes in the latter have seriously affected the economic situation in Guam. Nonetheless, the scenario has improved in Guam eventually although the trend of tourists has changed significantly (Dougan, 2007). A deep investigation into the behavioural pattern of the new generation of Japanese tourists has yielded a sharp contrast to the older lot of travellers. Hence, the policymakers need to frame new marketing, supply and operational decisions for boosting their tourism sector to be at par with its past glory. Marketing Decisions An empirical study shows that Japanese tourists prefer Guam over other tourist destinations owing to the proximity between the two and the picturesque beauty of the place. The Japanese are found to be mostly concerned about their security while touring and thus, the Guamanian policymakers need to market their increased concern towards security of their tourists and beautifying the spot. I n addition, the high demand for luxury items might also be employed by the policymakers for marketing tourism in Guam. A weak dollar against Japanese Yen has reduced the relative price of many branded items in Guam than they are in Japan which could be used as a ploy by policymakers to attract tourists (Moutinho, Curry, & Rita, 1996). Supply Decisions Supply decisions which boost tourism in Guam are those which help in drawing more and more tourists within the nation. Supply decisions are essentially those which take a note of the demand situation and then frame supply schedules so as to maximise profits (Walker & Walker, 2011). In the present instance, the demand decisions of Japanese tourists are found to be dependent more on their per capita income rather than the prices of commodities. Moreover, they incline more towards luxury items available in Guam. To meet their needs of regular items, the Japanese tourists recently have turned their attention towards discounted commodity st ores. Hence, the policymakers should choose to enhance the supply of luxury items in Guam as increase in sale of discounted commodity items do not assist in boosting the level of income in a nation. In addition, the Guamanian policymakers could also employ those tools which give them an edge over other tourism destinations in terms of opportunity costs. For instance, the hotel room rates in Guam are far cheaper than those in other tourist destinations with the downward trend especially noted post the Asian financial crisis, on account of high dependence of Guamanian tourism on the economy of Japan. The policymakers can also choose to instruct all Guamanian hotels towards keeping their prices low as well especially at times when the Japanese economy is experiencing a low. Moreover, at times when the demand is low, the policymakers can choose to adjust the availability of airline seats so as to keep the prices constant and reduce chances of loss. Operational Decisions The operational decisions that the policymakers should adopt to boost the Guamanian tourism sector would tend to improve the financial flow within the economy (Knowles,