China's Interlaken Case Study: Competitive Advantage through Cultural Replication
INTRODUCTION
China 's Interlaken Village is a grand resort precisely imitating the Swiss village of Interlaken. After opening in mid-2007, China 's Interlaken was successful to an extent, but there was concern that the resort 's performance would drop heading into the third year of business. The resort was targeting the tourism division of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions in an attempt to offer business travelers a luxurious experience. Additionally, China 's Interlaken Village offered a splendid getaway experience as it was just an hour out of the city.
China 's Interlaken Village was part of the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) East project, so it certainly does not stand alone as the only tourist attraction in its immediate area. Surrounding the village is OCT East 's Team Stream Valley, Wind Valley, Knight Valley, two other towns, Seafield Town and Ancient Tea Town, three theme streets, Seafield Street, Sounds of Nature Street and Hydro Street in Art Land, and three groups, the Cloud, Tea-Zen Adventure, and Flower Clock Church.
China 's Interlaken may encounter conflict in the approaching business year because of inability to attract domestic travelers to the Interlaken Village and more importantly, the fact that multiple competitors are entering the tourism market with similar products.
SWOT ANALYSIS
PROBLEM DEFINITION
China 's Interlaken Village has not differentiated its product enough to gain a competitive edge over its competition and offer a variety of services to different consumer preferences.
DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES
China 's Interlaken Village needs to be able to capture more of the domestic market and differentiate its services from the competitors, such as Dalian Russian Street and Guilin Merryland World. The case explained that the prime segments to capture within the tourism market are the MICE sector and ecotourism, both of which China 's Interlaken Village already targets to a degree, as well as cultural tourism and sport
China 's Interlaken Village is a grand resort precisely imitating the Swiss village of Interlaken. After opening in mid-2007, China 's Interlaken was successful to an extent, but there was concern that the resort 's performance would drop heading into the third year of business. The resort was targeting the tourism division of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions in an attempt to offer business travelers a luxurious experience. Additionally, China 's Interlaken Village offered a splendid getaway experience as it was just an hour out of the city.
China 's Interlaken Village was part of the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) East project, so it certainly does not stand alone as the only tourist attraction in its immediate area. Surrounding the village is OCT East 's Team Stream Valley, Wind Valley, Knight Valley, two other towns, Seafield Town and Ancient Tea Town, three theme streets, Seafield Street, Sounds of Nature Street and Hydro Street in Art Land, and three groups, the Cloud, Tea-Zen Adventure, and Flower Clock Church.
China 's Interlaken may encounter conflict in the approaching business year because of inability to attract domestic travelers to the Interlaken Village and more importantly, the fact that multiple competitors are entering the tourism market with similar products.
SWOT ANALYSIS
PROBLEM DEFINITION
China 's Interlaken Village has not differentiated its product enough to gain a competitive edge over its competition and offer a variety of services to different consumer preferences.
DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES
China 's Interlaken Village needs to be able to capture more of the domestic market and differentiate its services from the competitors, such as Dalian Russian Street and Guilin Merryland World. The case explained that the prime segments to capture within the tourism market are the MICE sector and ecotourism, both of which China 's Interlaken Village already targets to a degree, as well as cultural tourism and sport
References: Farhoomand, A. (n.d.). China 's Interlaken: Competitive Advantage Through Cultural Replication. _Asia Case Research Centre_.