In the recent past, creative tourism has become a strategy implemented by most cities to ensure a constant flow of tourists flocking the city. There has been a shift in the tourism sector, with cities preferring to invest In creative tourism instead of cultural tourism that took root in tourism sectors (Zhang, & Xie, 2019). The first appearance ot the idea of creative tourism first came up in the year 2000 and was defined as tourism that allows the tourists actively participate in the learning experiences as part of the holiday destination the visit. Creative tourists can be individual persons, couples, groups of travelers, or sometimes families visiting a target destination to interact with people at the place actively, for example, a traveler taking part in cooking classes at the destination to share his experience with the resident or to interact with them in the process. Photographers and choreographers can travel to a tourist destination of choice to have fun while practicing their hobby and, in the process, consumes products in that particular place. They participate in artistic and creative activities such as painting art, especially artists who love art. Art exhibitions with live drawing sessions allow creative tourists passionate about art to participate in the drawing.
Kwun Tong Promenade urban park
This is an urban waterfront park situated in Hong Kong and was once a recycling depot but has been turned into the city’s most attractive harborside park. Underneath the nearby flyover, there are bands playing shows. This allows creative tourists to attend the shows and feel like the locals by listening to their music and interacting with residents watching the shows. Music played there will enable visitors to relax and have fun while enjoying their vacation. The piece also gives a sense of culture as the bands playing underneath the highway flyover are formed by Chinese citizens (Chan, 2020). The story of the Chinese culture is depicted in the outfits used by artists, instrument and by actively joining in playing instruments, a creative tourist gets a better experience. Hong Kong city is geographically surrounded by sea; hence, having homes close to the sea is a luxury, but the city has been building waterfronts inland to make the city more appealing to residents and tourists visiting the city.
The uniqueness of the Kwun Tong Promenade waterfront makes it a perfect spot for tourists intending to visit the city large, occupying 4.2 hectares of land with a wide range of chill bumps. It is a public space for visitors and residents to take long walks, jog, and interact. People of all ages usually flock to the area, and interaction with other persons visiting the front makes it possible for creative tourists to have fun; for example, photographers visiting the show can take pictures, and those performing art skits can also do so while filming their acts. Some choirs traveling as creatine artists who perform in every place they visit can get to the promenade and sing their choruses in from the masses spending time at the waterfront. Interaction with the other visitors and residents will prove more satisfying at the end of the vacation.
The waterfront is about one kilometer long, and the waterfront boardwalk offers assistance by giving a close-up view of the Kai Tak cruise terminal to the leisure walkers and loggers. They also allow them to have a closer view of Lei Yue Mun and the harbor. In an attempt to bring up memories of the past, models have been made of cranes and bundles of waste paper that reflect the paper recycling industry that was previously situated at the place the waterfront was constructed. Tourists visiting the waterfront can take walks and have an insight into the history of Hong Kong city and specifically the Kwun Tong promenade, which is considered one of the world’s best waterfronts. The runway park has a perfect view that induces a feeling of peace. Watching people from different cultures at the waterfront allows the tourist to understand the various cultures by interacting with them, ensuring a sense of peace at the site. Since the place has security guards all over makes them feel safe and free from any harm as sometimes tourists could be running away from chaos in their homeland or area of residence.
A magical effect is usually achieved at the waterfront, especially at night when lighting along the tree lines goes up in flashes of color-changing lights making the view appear perfect and relaxing to the mind. Engineers in the city crate in the kaleidoscopic effect, and the place is the best waterfront destination for any tourist couples interested in having a lovely time. Imagine sitting by the waterfronts as colorful lights go up, creating patterns and shapes of the heat, it is perfect, and no period can make one forget the magical experience. There is much more to enjoy at the promenade, including playgrounds for children, sitting out sections, and fitness areas as benches place under the shelters to enable visitors to sit and rest while viewing ongoing activities at the waterfront.
Wellness travelers are usually more educated, affluent, and willing to incur more expenses on the travel experience, services, and other activities that support and improve their health and well-being. Circadian health has become a common trend, with sleep becoming an over-the-top wellness trend. Doctors have suggested that circadian health can be optimized by regulating the room’s lighting. For example, airplanes turn off lights. Wellness music has been a wellness experience trend and includes playing music aimed at reducing stress. Creative tourists can use workout music and soundscapes during their vacation to interact with residents and workouts with physical therapists at their destination. A wellness sabbatical is also a wellness trend suitable for creative tourists due to the need to recharge by taking vacations. Creative tourists can work online while traveling due to technology, hence making wellness sabbatical programs suitable for creative tourists.
Roles of ICT
It enables the growth of tourism in Hong Kong as it influences the global scale of the tourism sector. Without advancement in communication technology, it would not be easy to convince the world that there is a development they should visit in the city. Technologies used in advertising the city’s products include mobile phones, computers, and other electronic gadgets with the help of social media that has comprehensive coverage across the world. The tourism industry has been entirely transformed with the creation of new opportunities in the tourism industry in the city with the increase in efficiency and effectiveness in terms of the relationship between the tourism companies and ensuring interaction between tourism companies and their clients. New social media platforms are constantly created and have to be utilized by the marketers of tourism companies to keep up with the level of competition. Negligence can lead to significant losses ( Madhukar & Sharma, 2019).
ICT facilitates the discovery of information by consumers of tourism products; for example, tourists can learn of a destination matching their personal preferences from the internet and contact the tour company to get them to the place. Tourism companies can identify consumer preferences from the internet as different groups of people have varying preferences and specifications, including how they wish to travel to the tourist site selected and the type of food the tourist would likely have considered in the region they come from. A tourism company expecting French clients visiting Kwun Tong promenade urban park needs to understand French foods. The clients will have to ensure that accommodation is offered near restaurants offering a variety of dishes.
ICT educates tourists on price sensitivity; hence clients contacting tourism companies will understand the expenses. The tourists spend time comparing prices on different websites, allowing them to understand the stipulated costs before making up their minds. Tourists visiting Hong Kong have lately been seen to plan their traveling arrangements instead of depending on tourism companies, as many online traveling agencies can secure their travel to the destination of choice. Tourism is about the experience, and it is expected of the tourism sector to ensure their consumers are satisfied with their services. This is to make the gap between expectation and the experience of the consumers extremely narrow. Sometimes a tourist can see an advertisement on the internet about the existence of a good destination and make travel arrangements but later find out that the advertisements were lies. Therefore, tourism companies’ responsibility is to precisely describe what they have and avoid exaggeration to secure return clients.
In some cases, ICT assists in substituting reality with virtual versions in a circumstance where the real performance may not be accessible or when accessing the actual item are way too expensive to afford. Virtual reality substitution machines have been developed by engineers and are available in most recreational sections of most malls in the city of Hong Kong. Tourism sectors have adopted the use of machines and many. Virtual machines are installed in postmodern malls in large urban cities and attract tourists. High-technology theme parks and IMAX cinemas also attract tourists to the urban tourism sector, with couples and children flocking the cinemas. Children are more fond of virtual machines, and their parents may take them to high technology cities as urban tourists. The virtual-reality devices are sometimes used for tourist therapy sessions by showing the peaceful environment depicting what they would like to see in real life.
References
Chan, E. (2020). Public space as a commodity: the social production of the Hong Kong waterfront. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Urban Design and Planning, 173(4), 146-155.
Madhukar, V., & Sharma, D. (2019). The role of information technology applications in profitability: a study of the Indian travel and tourism industry. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes.
Zhang, Y., & Xie, P. F. (2019). Motivational determinates of creative tourism: A case study of Albergue art space in Macau. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(20), 2538-2549.
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