Coming up with an MBA dissertation proposal: on customer experience in the Hong Kong tourism sector

Coming up with an MBA dissertation proposal: on customer experience in the Hong Kong tourism sector

My MBA dissertation theme is on "an evaluation of customers' meaningful experience in the Hong Kong tourism sector". Please provide 5 recently reported issues in the Hong Kong public media and the related research issues on this topic.

    Recent public media reports highlight key challenges in Hong Kong's tourism sector that impact customers' meaningful experiences, such as overcrowding and service shortcomings. These issues provide fertile ground for MBA dissertation research on evaluating experiential quality.

Overtourism Crowds

Social media like Xiaohongshu has driven massive crowds to sites like Po Pin Chau, straining infrastructure and diminishing visitor experiences through overcrowding. This reduces the sense of immersion and authenticity for tourists seeking meaningful connections with nature and culture.

Related Research Issue: How does overtourism erode perceived meaningfulness in experiential tourism, and what sustainable management strategies can restore balance between visitor numbers and quality encounters?

Declining Retail Spending

Retail sales dropped 5.5% year-on-year in early 2025 despite rising arrivals, as Mainland visitors spend less due to strong HKD, RMB depreciation, and cheaper Shenzhen options. This shifts tourism from shopping-focused "paradise" to less engaging experiences, eroding perceived value.

Related Research Issue: To what extent do economic factors and cross-border competition undermine retail as a core element of meaningful tourist spending and satisfaction?

Poor Service Complaints

Social media complaints on Xiaohongshu highlight rude service at cha chaan tengs and retail, with tourists feeling "paying for a hard time" in Mandarin interactions. PolyU's 2025 HKTSI notes service reliability as key, yet retail and restaurants lag due to prices and attitudes.

Related Research Issue: What cultural and linguistic barriers affect service quality perceptions, and how can training enhance emotional connections for diverse tourists?

High Prices vs. Expectations

Restaurants and shops are seen as expensive, pushing diners to Mainland alternatives and lowering satisfaction in retail/restaurant sectors per HKTSI analysis. This challenges Hong Kong's premium positioning, making experiences feel less rewarding.

Related Research Issue: How do pricing strategies influence the authenticity and value-for-money dimensions of meaningful tourism experiences post-pandemic?

Low-Value Mass Tourism

Focus on high-volume, low-spend visitors strains infrastructure and dilutes unique East-West cultural depth, prioritizing quantity over quality engagements. Media calls for shifting to high-value tourists who seek immersive, personalized stays.

Related Research Issue: Can diversifying to high-value segments improve meaningful experience metrics like satisfaction and loyalty, amid competition from regional destinations?

 

With regard to my initial MBA dissertation theme on "an evaluation of customers' meaningful experience in the Hong Kong tourism sector", please provide a specific research theme by also considering the following key words: overtourism, high-value market segments, retail spending.

    A refined research theme for your MBA dissertation could integrate overtourism pressures, the pursuit of high-value market segments, and declining retail spending to evaluate how these dynamics shape meaningful customer experiences in Hong Kong's tourism sector.

Proposed Theme

"Mitigating Overtourism Through High-Value Segmentation: Enhancing Meaningful Experiences and Retail Spending in Hong Kong Tourism"

This theme narrows your original focus by targeting strategies to counter overcrowding's negative impacts—such as diluted authenticity and strained infrastructure—via attracting premium tourists who prioritize immersive, personalized engagements over mass visits. High-value segments (e.g., affluent cultural explorers) could boost per capita retail spending, transforming shopping from transactional to experiential anchors of satisfaction.

Core Research Question

How can targeted high-value segmentation alleviate overtourism's erosion of meaningful experiences while revitalizing retail spending as a pillar of tourist value in Hong Kong?

Key Objectives

·        Assess overtourism's role in reducing experiential meaningfulness (e.g., overcrowding at cultural sites lowers immersion).

·        Identify high-value segments' preferences for authentic, low-density encounters that drive premium retail engagement.

·        Evaluate policy interventions (e.g., pricing, capacity controls) linking segmentation to sustained spending and loyalty.

Theoretical Framework

Draw on experiential tourism models (e.g., Pine & Gilmore's experience economy) to measure meaningfulness via dimensions like emotional connection, authenticity, and value perception, tested against overtourism and retail metrics from recent HKTSI data. This positions your work for practical recommendations amid Hong Kong's post-2025 recovery challenges.

Based on the research theme of "Mitigating Overtourism Through High-Value Segmentation: Enhancing Meaningful Experiences and Retail Spending in Hong Kong Tourism", and via the pragmatism lens, please provide 4 research objectives and 3 research questions, a dissertation proposal title. This dissertation project is a part-time 4-month MBA dissertation project.

Dissertation Proposal Title
"Mitigating Overtourism via High-Value Tourist Segmentation: A Pragmatic Evaluation of Enhanced Experiences and Retail Spending in Hong Kong's Tourism Sector"

Pragmatism guides this part-time MBA dissertation by prioritizing practical, actionable insights over rigid paradigms, blending quantitative metrics (e.g., spending data) with qualitative experiences (e.g., tourist perceptions) to inform policy amid Hong Kong's post-2025 tourism recovery.

Research Objectives

·        Objective 1: Map overtourism impacts on meaningful experiences at key Hong Kong sites, using mixed metrics like visitor density and satisfaction scores to quantify authenticity erosion.

·        Objective 2: Profile high-value market segments (e.g., affluent cultural explorers) and their retail spending behaviors, identifying preferences for low-density, immersive engagements.

·        Objective 3: Assess pragmatic strategies (e.g., tiered pricing, capacity caps) linking segmentation to boosted per capita spending and experiential quality.

·        Objective 4: Develop feasible recommendations for Hong Kong stakeholders, validated through pilot scenarios feasible within a 4-month timeframe.

Research Questions

·        RQ1: To what extent does overtourism diminish meaningful tourist experiences, and how do high-value segments differ in resilience to crowding effects?

·        RQ2: What segmentation tactics most effectively drive retail spending uplifts while preserving authenticity in Hong Kong's experiential tourism?

·        RQ3: Which pragmatic interventions balance visitor volumes, high-value attraction, and retail revitalization for sustainable outcomes?

 

Suggest 4 academic theories for employment to study this topic, and also provide references on these theories in Harvard reference format.

    Four academic theories suit this dissertation topic, offering lenses to analyze overtourism's impacts, high-value segmentation strategies, and experiential/retail dynamics in Hong Kong tourism through a pragmatic, mixed-methods approach.

Experience Economy Theory

Pine and Gilmore's framework posits tourism evolves from commodities to staged experiences that engage senses, emotions, and identities, elevating meaningfulness beyond mere services. It applies by evaluating how overtourism commoditizes sites, while high-value segments seek transformative retail engagements like cultural shopping immersions.

Pine, B.J. and Gilmore, J.H. (1998) 'Welcome to the experience economy', Harvard Business Review, 76(4), pp. 97–105.

Tourist Typology/Segmentation Theory

Dolnicar extends market segmentation by classifying tourists into psychographic/behavioral types (e.g., high-value cultural explorers vs. mass sightseers), enabling targeted strategies to mitigate crowding and boost spending. Pragmatically, it profiles segments resilient to overtourism, prioritizing those driving premium retail via authentic experiences.

Dolnicar, S. (2002) 'A review of data-driven market segmentation in tourism', Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 12(1), pp. 1–22.

Stimulus Overload Theory

This socio-psychological model explains how excessive tourist density triggers perceptual overload, eroding meaningful experiences through stress and reduced authenticity. In Hong Kong contexts, it frames overtourism at sites like Po Pin Chau, contrasting high-value segments' tolerance via controlled-access retail/cultural offerings.

Schmidt, D.E. and Keating, J.P. (1979) 'Stimulus overload and human judgement', in Environmental Stress, New York: Academic Press, pp. 93–125.

Pragmatism Paradigm

Tashakkori and Teddlie advocate mixed-methods pragmatism, transcending positivist/interpretivist divides to yield actionable insights from quantitative (e.g., spending data) and qualitative (e.g., experience narratives) sources. It underpins your 4-month project's feasibility, integrating HKTSI metrics with interviews for segmentation/overtourism solutions.

Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (2003) 'The past and future of mixed methods research: from data triangulation to mixed model designs', in A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie, eds. Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 671–701.

 

Relevant links: on ALRA 2026.

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