A Business Person’s Tourism: Do as EM Guru Mark Mobius?

I have been a lifelong journalist and editor, much of that business and technology news. So a habit of mine is seeking information and knowledge on business & economics. Over the years, this has become ingrained.

But often, while on vacation, I wished I did not notice much other than the tourist attractions and enjoying myself. But other time, noticing things related to my professional life can be interesting.

What do you think?

Mark Mobius, the emerging market guru with a medium term view of investments that a few years back did not see emerging markets sell-off coming & so semi-retired from Templeton, however, made many very interesting observations I think are still valid.

One of them is that he would go out to local markets of emerging economies to see how the business was doing, likely, a part of his economics analysis. In business and economics term, this has much to do with the real economic discipline of “Behavioral Economics.” Mark Mobius gave an interview once to one of America’s business news TV. In that

In business and economics term, this has much to do with the real economic discipline of “Behavioral Economics.” Mark Mobius, even gave an interview once to one of America’s business news TV. In that Mark Mobius interview, he was walking Hong Kong’s streets, where much of the markets were, with the journalist.

On Mark Mobius:

His investment philosophy blends in well with my understanding of human psychology and personality because we both liked to go to unusual places to unlock hidden value. For example, if my goal had been to achieve the same results as everybody else, then I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to move to Asia in the 1960s and do something different. 

Business people travel all the time, often for business and often as a tourist. is there any difference between traveling for business and traveling for vacation? I have business friends who go on vacation and basically disappear, while other still very connected. While other is some level of a mix between the two. The following is what is business tourism and business travel is about.

The following are some Mark Mobius Quotes:

You’re sometimes got to take some pain in the short term in order to outperform in the future.
Mark Mobius

In the perception gap between emotion and reason, you’ll find your buy window.
Mark Mobius

You have to talk to company management, look into their eyes, and determine whether they are reliable.
Mark Mobius

What goes up comes down, and what goes down comes back up.
Mark Mobius

We’re like detectives. We have to discover what’s behind the screen of the accounts.
Mark Mobius

If you search worldwide, you will find more bargains and better bargains than by studying only one nation.
Mark Mobius

I try to avoid repeating the same mistakes again and again.
Mark Mobius

We must be ready to make mistakes, otherwise, we would never learn.
Mark Mobius

Volatility can be a good thing for investors; be prepared to benefit from it.
Mark Mobius

Political uncertainty – like any other form of uncertainty – can be your green light to move into a market.
Mark Mobius

Someone asked me once if I could condense into five words the most important qualities needed for a good investor, and I replied: ‘Motivation, humility, hard work, discipline.’
Mark Mobius

I am, first and foremost, a firm believer in getting out and kicking the tires…
Mark Mobius

Too many people look at the short term and, when they give you money, want you to be fully invested at once.
Mark Mobius

I like to buy stocks whose prices are going down, not up.
Mark Mobius

John [Templeton] taught me to think for the long term, focus on the fundamentals, and think independently because the investment world has a herd mentality.
Mark Mobius

To achieve better results, I was encouraged to go against the crowd…
Mark Mobius

Always analyze the situation before making a decision.
Mark Mobius

In value investing, money is made after the crash, not before…
Mark Mobius

We look for the next big crash in emerging markets because in value investing, money is made after the crash, not before, so we don’t mind seeing crises or downturns.
Mark Mobius 

The following is what is business tourism and business travel, traditionally, is about.

From the Wikipedia

Business Tourism:

Business tourism and business travel is a more limited and focused subset of regular tourism.^[1][2] During business tourism (traveling), individuals are still working and being paid, but are doing so away from both their workplace and home.^[2]

Some definitions of tourism tend to exclude business travel.^[3] However, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines tourists as people “traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”.^[4]

Primary business tourism activities include meetings, and attending conferences and exhibitions.^[2] Despite the term business in business tourism, when individuals from government or non-profit organizations engage in similar activities, this is still categorized as business tourism (travel).^[2]

 

Significance:

 

Historically, business tourism, is in the form of traveling to, spending money and staying abroad, away for some time, has a history as long as that of international trade.^[5] In late 20th century, business tourism is seen as a major industry.^[6]

According to the 1998 data from the British Tourist Authority and National Tourist Boards, business tourism accounted for about 14% of all trips to or within UK, and 15% of the tourist market within UK.^[7] A 2005 estimate suggested that those numbers for UK may be closer to 30%.^[8] Sharma (2004) cited a WTO estimated that business tourism accounts for 30% of international tourism, through its importance varies significantly between different countries.^[5]

 

Characteristic:

 

Compared to regular tourism, business ones involves a smaller section of the population, with different motivations, and additional freedom-of-choice limiting constrains imposed through the business aspects.^[1] Destinations of business tourism are much more likely to be areas significantly developed for business purposes (cities, industrial regions, etc.).^[1] An average business tourist is more wealthy than an average leisure tourist, and is expected to spend more money.^[5]

Business tourism can be divided into primary and secondary activities. Primary one are business (work) related, and included activities such as consultations, inspections, and attending meetings. Secondary ones are related to tourism (leisure) and include activities such as dining out, recreation, shopping, sightseeing, meeting others for leisure activities, and so on.^[3] While the primary ones are seen as more important, the secondary ones are nonetheless often described as “substantial”.^[9]

Business tourism can involve individual and small group travel, and destinations can include small to larger meetings, including conventions and conferences, trade fairs, and exhibitions.^[1][9] In the United States, about half of business tourism involves attending a large meeting of such kind.^[9]

Most tourist facilities such as airports, restaurants and hotels are shared between leisure and business tourists, through a seasonal difference is often apparent (for example, business tourism may use those facilities during times less attractive for leisure tourists, such as when the weather conditions are less attractive).^[2][8]

Business tourism can be divided into:

• traditional business traveling, or meetings – intended for face-to-face meetings with business partners in different locations^[2][10]
• incentive trips – a job perk, aimed at motivating employees (for example, approximately a third of UK companies use this strategy to motivate workers)^[2][6]
• conference and exhibition traveling – intended for attending large scale meetings. In an estimated number of 14,000 conferences worldwide (for 1994), primary destinations are Paris, London, Madrid, Geneva, Brussels, Washington, New York, Sydney and Singapore^[2][11]

The words meetings, incentive, conferences and exhibition in the context of business tourism are abbreviated as MICE.^[2]

1. ^ Jump up to:^ab c d John Lennon (2003). Tourism statistics: international perspectives and current issues. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8264-6501-6. Retrieved 1 May2013.
2. ^ Jump up to:^{ab c d e f g h i} Brian Garrod (12 October 2012). “Business tourism”. In Peter Robinson. Tourism: The Key Concepts. Routledge. pp. 18–22. ISBN 978-0-415-67792-9. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
3. ^ Jump up to:^ab John Lennon (2003). Tourism statistics: international perspectives and current issues. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8264-6501-6. Retrieved 1 May2013.
4. Jump up^“UNWTO technical manual: Collection of Tourism Expenditure Statistics” (PDF). World Tourism Organization. 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
5. ^ Jump up to:^ab c Kishan Kumar Sharma (1 January 2004). World Tourism Today. Sarup & Sons. p. 253. ISBN 978-81-7625-512-7. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
6. ^ Jump up to:^ab Kishan Kumar Sharma (1 January 2004). World Tourism Today. Sarup & Sons. p. 254. ISBN 978-81-7625-512-7. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
7. Jump up^John Lennon (2003). Tourism statistics: international perspectives and current issues. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8264-6501-6. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
8. ^ Jump up to:^ab Peter Robinson; Sine Heitmann; Peter U. C. Dieke (2011). Research Themes for Tourism. CABI. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-84593-698-3. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
9. ^ Jump up to:^ab c karin Weber; K. S. Chon (2002). Convention Tourism: International Research and Industry Perspectives. Psychology Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7890-1284-5. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
10. Jump up^Kishan Kumar Sharma (1 January 2004). World Tourism Today. Sarup & Sons. p. 256. ISBN 978-81-7625-512-7. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
11. Jump up^Kishan Kumar Sharma (1 January 2004). World Tourism Today. Sarup & Sons. p. 255. ISBN 978-81-7625-512-7. Retrieved 1 May 2013.