2014 HKDSE Tourism and Hospitality Studies Examination ...

2014 HKDSE Tourism and

Hospitality Studies Examination

Briefing Session

3 November 2014

Delivered by:

Prof. Bob McKercher and Dr. Josiah Chan

1

Some Observations

• No significant difference between English and

Chinese versions exams

• Average marks similar to 2013

• Grade 5 or above increased to 3.13%

• Grade 2 or above increased to 67.5%

2

Considerations in Setting 2014 Exam

1. Different emphasis and balance of hospitality /

tourism; application/concepts; business / social

science

2. Take reference to 2013 question setting

3. Desire for consistency in question format

4. Test both theory and application in paper 2

3

Paper 1: Multiple Choice

• Level of difficulty

– Some questions were relatively straightforward, enabling most

candidates to select the right answer.

– Others were more difficult, by design, to ensure that candidates

who were most familiar with the content could select the

correct answer.

– The percent of correct answers ranged from almost 90% to less

than 10%

4

Paper 1: Multiple Choice

• Candidates’ performance

– Fair in general

– Average number of questions answered correctly was about 15

– Overall, candidates answered questions about tourist behaviour

and service quality very well. Typically, two-thirds or more of

candidates chose the correct answer.

– Candidates were less familiar with questions relating to tourism

geography and to a lesser extent current issues or professional

knowledge relating to tourism.

– Only about one in three candidates could select the correct

answers for geography related questions.

5

Multiple Choice Q18

Due to a typhoon, the Hong Kong International Airport is

closed. A flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong is requested

to divert to another airport. Which city en-route would you

recommend?

A. Bangkok, Thailand (29%)

B. Moscow, Russia (10%)

C. Xi’an, China (30%)

D. Tokyo, Japan (31%) *

6

Multiple Choice Q19

Which place in the Southern Hemisphere is suitable for

diving during the Christmas holidays?

A. Nadi, Fiji (35%) *

B. Cebu, The Philippines (22%)

C. Chiang Mai, Thailand (33%)

D. Honolulu, United States of America (10%)

7

Multiple Choice Q26

Hong Kong hopes to become a regional cruise hub with

the opening of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. What ports

could be included in a regional routing?

1. Okinawa, Japan

2. Macau SAR, China

3. Kaohsiung, Taiwan

4. Cape Town, South Africa

A. (1) and (3) only (18%) *

B. (2) and (4) only (5%)

C. (1), (2) and (3) only (71%)

D. (2), (3) and (4) only (6%)8

Multiple Choice Q7 ‘Study tourism’ has become more popular in recent years and

a large number of students now have the chance to travel

abroad in groups. It is compulsory for tour escorts who

handle these groups to:

1. hold a valid outbound Tour Escort Pass issued by the Travel

Industry Council of Hong Kong

2. have a valid first-aid certificate

3. arrange for a social worker to accompany the group

4. obtain a registered teacher’s qualification

A. (1) and (2) only (71.5%) *

B. (1) and (4) only (24.9%)

C. (2) and (3) only (1.4%)

D. (3) and (4) only (2.1%) 9

Paper 1 DBQ Q1

10

Paper 1 DBQ Q1

11

Paper 1 DBQ Q1

(a) Name the association that represents hotels in Hong Kong and list two of

its main functions. (3 marks)

(b) Based on the information provided in Table 1, answer the following

questions:

(i) Name the type of accommodation that best describes

Accommodations B and D. Illustrate your answers with evidence.

(2 marks)

(ii) Explain the benefits for Accommodation B of being a member of

the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”. (3 marks)

(iii) Accommodation C is a serviced apartment. Although its quality

is similar to that of Accommodation B, its room rate is

substantially lower. Give three reasons to explain why a lower

room rate can be offered. (3 marks)

•

•

12

Paper 1 DBQ Q1

(c) Tourist spending patterns and accommodation preferences are often

closely related. Based on the information provided in Table 2,

(i) identify which visitor market (A or B) is from the USA. State one

reason to support your answer; (1 mark)

(ii) calculate the average hotel spending per night of mainland China

visitors; and (1 mark)

(iii) which accommodation is most suitable for a group of 70 female

vacation travellers from China visiting on a 4-day shopping tour?

Support your answer with two pieces of evidence. (2 marks)

13

Paper 1: DBQ Q2

14

Paper 1: DBQ Q2

15

Paper 1: DBQ Q2

(a) Based on the information provided in Table 3, answer the following

questions:

(i) What are the types of food and beverage services of Establishments A

and D? Illustrate your answers with evidence. (2 marks)

(ii) Identify the food service establishments classification of

Establishments B and C. Illustrate your answers with evidence.

(2 marks)

(iii) As far as operations are concerned, explain three advantages of the

classification of the food service establishment adopted by

Establishment B. (3 marks)

(iv) Why would a business tourist, travelling on his or her own, prefer to

dine in Establishment A? (2 marks)

16

Paper 1: DBQ Q2

(b) (i) Based on Photo 1, identify and explain how two elements of this

restaurant help create its ambience of elegance. (2 marks)

(ii) Some other elements can also influence the ambience of a restaurant.

Identify and describe two of them. (2 marks)

(c) Identify two differences between French and American service styles.

(2 marks)

17

DBQ: Some Observations

• The mean score of two questions were close to each

other implying that the standard and difficulty were of a

similar level.

• Candidates could, generally, answer data based questions

where the answer was clearly embedded in the data, but

struggled with questions that asked them to interpret the

data to draw out other ideas.

• The questions were purposefully designed to cover more

than one study areas in both questions, which could test

a wider scope of knowledge and ensure fairness to

candidates regardless of question chosen.

18

DBQ: Some Observations

• Candidates in most cases could answer the relatively

straight-forward questions, while the follow-up questions

demanding in-depth knowledge or concept application

could differentiate candidates’ abilities very well. For

instance, in 1(b), most candidates could answer correctly

part (i); however, fewer candidates could provide

accurate answers part (ii) well, and only the brilliant

candidates could answer part (iii) correctly.

19

DBQ: General PerformanceQuestion Performance in General

1 (a) Satisfactory. Candidates generally could name the organization

and list one main function.

(b) (i) Good. Candidates in general understood the basic concepts.

(ii) Fair. About half of the candidates answered this question well

and explained the related benefits.

(iii) Poor. Candidates had difficulty with this question as many

candidates could not identify the difference between serviced

apartments and regular hotels.

(c) (i) Good. This question was answered well.

(ii) Poor. Many candidates could not relate the figures and work out

the answers correctly.

(iii) Fair. Generally, candidates could answer this question correctly

but some candidates failed to justify with relevant reasons.

20

DBQ: General PerformanceQuestion Performance in General

2 (a) (i) Fair. The majority of the candidates were able to identify the correct types

of food and beverage service with appropriate examples. However, some

candidates failed to state the correct type of food and beverage service of

Establishment D.

(ii) Good. The majority of the candidates were able to identify the correct

classifications of food service establishments of Establishments B and C,

with appropriate evidences illustrated.

(iii) Poor. About two third of the candidates failed to explain the advantages of

chain from the perspective of business operators.

(iv) Poor. The majority of the candidates failed to explain why business

travellers prefer dining in a hotel’s restaurant, reflecting a lack of

understanding of relevant topic.

(b) (i) Good. The majority of the candidates were able to identify two features

which helped create the ambience of elegance.

(ii) Fair. Most candidates were able to identify some other features which

could also influence the ambience. Some candidates repeated sensory

elements in their answers.

(c) Good. Most candidates were able to identify the differences between

French and American service styles.21

Paper 2 Essay Type Questions : Q1

1. Tourism products can be distributed through face to face and online

channels. While online channels are convenient, they can never replace

personal selling skills in creating customer satisfaction.

(a) From a tourism product supplier’s perspective, identify and explain

four roles played by travel agents in the tourism distribution system.

(8 marks)

(b) How can personal selling skills create customer satisfaction? (10

marks)

22

Paper 2: Q2

2. Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing forms of tourism. Cities are

competing with each other to become home ports for cruise lines, in part

because it is estimated that tourists spend up to seven times more money at

home ports than at other ports of call.

(a) State and explain five factors cruise operators consider when deciding on

a home port. (10 marks)

(b) Cruise ships can have negative environmental impacts. Identify four types

of pollution or ecological disruption that can be caused by cruise ships.

Give an example of each type and explain the measures that can be taken

to reduce these adverse impacts. (8 marks)

23

Paper 2: Q3

3. A restaurant menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A

variety of menu types exist, including à la carte (guests choose from a list

of options), table d'hôte (a pre-established sequence of courses served) or

a combination of the two.

(a) Menus serve more roles than simply listing available food items and

prices. Identify and describe five additional functions of menus.

(10 marks)

(b) Explain why the table d'hôte menu option is preferred over à la carte

menus, from the perspective of the restaurateur. (8 marks)

24

Paper 2: Q4

4 The Hong Kong SAR Government is investing billions of dollars to

upgrade many local tourist attractions. One example is the recently

announced plan for the further expansion of Ocean Park. When

completed, it will help enrich Hong Kong’s overall appeal and enhance

the status of the HKSAR as a premier destination.

(a) Identify and describe the three possible stages that follow the

Consolidation stage in Butler’s Destination Life Cycle. (6 marks)

(b) Discuss why it is important for a mature destination like Hong Kong

to revitalise its products on a regular basis. (12 marks)

25

Paper 2: Q5

5. Tourism development may bring about a range of positive and negative

impacts for host communities, especially in developing economies. For

example, the demonstration effect is one impact tourists may have on host

communities, while international hotel chains may change workplace

practices.

(a) Discuss four benefits for local residents of working in international

hotel chains. (8 marks)

(b) Identify and explain five negative impacts the demonstration effect

can have on residents of local communities. (10 marks)

26

Essay Type Questions: Some

Observations • Candidates generally preferred to answer social science-based

questions instead of business-oriented questions.

• Candidates were tactful enough to choose the questions they

could handle. For instance, question 4 demands higher level

of conceptual understanding but the candidates who attained

this question could get a fairly higher mark among all

questions.

• Some candidates did not appear to read the stem or prologue

of the question thoroughly before proceeding to answer it. As

a result, some candidates answered questions from the

perspective of the consumer, when the prologue clearly

indicated the perspective should have been from industry.

The percentage of candidates who demonstrated relevant

knowledge but answered the question wrongly was sufficient.27

Essay Type Questions: Some

Observations • Candidates could repeat theory, but struggles at times to

demonstrate deeper knowledge through application. They

could describe concepts but had difficulty showing the causal

relationship between concepts and actions.

• Some candidates simply gave very general and superficial

answers. The fact that some candidates did not use relevant

terms pertaining to the subject context might account for

their inability to present their answers with supporting facts

and sound arguments. Candidates are recommended to open

their answers with an introduction as well as provide a

conclusion.

• In general, candidates demonstrated a moderate level of

general knowledge and understanding of the subject matter

in tourism and hospitality studies 28

Essay Type Questions: General

Performance Question Performance in General

1 (a) Poor. The majority of the candidates demonstrated a

general understanding of the roles played by travel

agents. However, a sufficient number of candidates

failed to answer the question from the perspective of a

tourism-service-supplier.

(b) Fair. Most candidates could explain various personal

selling skills adopted by travel agents in achieving

customers’ satisfaction. Some candidates were not

able to explain the merits of personal selling skills over

online marketing.

29



2 (a) Fair. The majority of the candidates were able to

describe the requirements of being a home port.

However, a small number of candidates gave

answers that did not actually relate much to those

requirements.

(b) Satisfactory. Most of the candidates could identify

the types of pollutions or ecological description

caused by cruise ships. However, some candidates

were not able to elaborate clearly the measures

that can be taken to reduce these adverse impacts.

30



3 (a) Fair. Most candidates were able to give and explain

clearly and accurately the functions of a menu

with respect to cost-control, profit-making or

information provision. However, some of the

answers given were repeated.

(b) Fair. The majority of the candidates were able to

explain why the table d’hote menu option is

preferred over à la carte menus. However, a

minority of candidates failed to answer the

question from the perspective of a restaurant

owner.

31



4 (a) Good. The majority of the candidates were able to

identify the three possible stages that follow the

Consolidation stage of a destination. However, a small

proportion of the candidates failed to explain further

the changes of each stage after it, reflecting their

limited knowledge regarding the topic of Destination

Life Cycle.

(b) Fair. The majority of the candidates were able to

explain the importance of revitalizing products of a

destination on a regular basis with examples.

However, about one third of the candidates tended to

repeat relevant factors and were not able to analyze

the issue in multi-perspectives.32

Essay type questions

Question Performance in General

5 (a) Fair. About one third of the candidates answered

this question well, but many could not identify the

types of personal benefits working for

international chains brought.

(b) Good. Most candidates could identify effects and

repeat what was taught in the syllabus, but some

answers did not relate closely to demonstration.

33

Sample

of level

5 paper

34

35

考生能恰當運用學科詞彙，根據試題所提供的資料，正確地解說餐廳的種類及其獨特之處（ DBQ）。

36

37

38

-考生能確切地解釋旅行社所扮演的四個角色，以及旅行社與產品供應商的關係，反映其對旅遊及款待業有透徹的認識和理解（ Q1）。

39

40

-考生能從多角度指出並解釋，為何套餐比散餐的餐單更為可取（ Q3）。

41

42

43

-考生有效地運用批判性思考及解難能力，向當地社區的居民分析示範效應所帶來的五個負面影響（ Q5）。

44

Sample

of level

5 paper

45

46

The candidate is

able to demonstrate

a comprehensive

understanding of

food and beverage

services and food

service

establishments

(DBQ).

47

48

49

50

The comprehensive views provided by the candidate

demonstrate his/her critical thinking and problem-solving skills

in relation to home port issues (Q2) 51

52

53

The concept of destination cycle and its application in Hong

Kong are explained in a creative and coherent manner by

the candidate (Q4).

54

55

56

The candidate is able to describe the benefits of working in an

international hotel and draw conclusions about impact of

demonstration effect in a logical and coherent manner (Q5).57

Thank you

58

2014 HKDSE Tourism and Hospitality Studies Examination ...

Documents