The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Research Degree Proposal

Note: Please note that the information given in this form will only be used for processing this application. A typical PhD proposal will be somewhere between three and four thousand words (excluding references and appendices). While we do not insist on a definite layout, applicants are encouraged to keep the following in mind: i.e. about 13 pages with 1.5 spacing and leaving enough margin for comments. The theory of consumer demand has been a central topic in Economics for many years (Edgerton et al., 1996). Much effort has been exerted in bridging the gap between the pure theory of consumer behaviour and its empirical implementations. The formalised theory of consumer demand has stimulated the developments and applications of econometric methodologies. Not only has the rapid expansion of international tourism led to increasing contribution to national and global economies, it has also motivated growing interests in tourism demand analysis among academics and business practitioners. Tourism demand studies are of particularly importance for the countries/regions where tourism plays a key role, such as Hong Kong. However, those latest developments in econometric methodologies have been rarely applied to the tourism context. The limitations of the traditional methodologies employed in previous tourism demand analyses may have biased the empirical results, and more seriously, led to misleading policies. This study, therefore, aims to overcome this problem by introducing a theoretically sound and technically effective framework in tourism demand analysis.