Project Number: CXP-1003 Hong Kong Maritime Museum Relocation Project An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in cooperation with Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Hong Kong Submitted on March 5, 2010 Submitted By: Submitted To: John Depot Dr. Stephen Davies, Sponsor Liaison Benjamin Goldberg Project Advisors: Eric Nadeau Byron Rodriguez Professor Andrew G. Klein Professor R. Creighton Peet Abstract The goal of this project was to complete a marketing study for the Hong Kong Maritime Museum (HKMM) at its future location at Pier 8. Observational data were collected at the pier and other museums, while museum marketing strategies were discovered through interviews. We estimated visitation rates and recommended ways to enhance accessibility, visibility, and attractiveness at Pier 8. Our findings suggest that the HKMM’s proposed business model for Pier 8 is viable and should help the museum be successful there. ii Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Hong Kong Maritime Museum and its entire staff for making our project possible. We would like to give special thanks to Dr. Stephen Davies, Museum Director; Ms. Catalina Chor, Executive Manager and Curator; and lastly Assistance Curators Ms. Moody Tang and Ms. Nowell Li for all providing assistance and accommodations as we progressed through our project. Moreover, we would like to thank other individuals such as Mr. Dick Groves, Mr. Paul Zimmerman, Mr. Frankie Yick, Mr. Johnny Leung, Mr. Christian Fung, Professor Dominic Golding, Professor Jeffrey Forgeng, and Mr. Chan Ki-hung, who all took time to sit with us and provide great depth by answering our queries. We also would like to thank Worcester Polytechnic Institute for coordinating this project and especially our advisors Professor R. Creighton Peet and Professor Andrew G. Klein. Finally, we would like to acknowledge and extend our gratitude to all the people who have contributed to this project and provided invaluable information. iii Authorship John Depot wrote a section of Chapter 2 and the sections in Chapters 4 and 5 pertaining to accessibility. John also compiled and organized the data pertaining to observational studies, authoring appendices G and H. Ben Goldberg co-authored Chapter 1 and wrote sections of Chapters 4 and 5 pertaining to attractiveness. Ben also designed the observational studies and wrote Appendix C. Furthermore, Ben co-authored Appendix D and compiled Appendix F. Eric Nadeau was the main author of Chapter 3 and co-authored Chapter 1. Eric also wrote the Executive Summary, Acknowledgements, Authorship, a section of Chapter 2, sections of Appendix B, and the sections in Chapters 4 and 5 pertaining to projected visitation. Byron Rodriguez was the main author of Chapter 2. Additionally, Byron contributed to Chapter 1, Chapter 3, and wrote the Abstract. In addition, Byron wrote the sections in Chapters 4 and 5 pertaining to visibility. Byron also authored Appendix A and co-authored Appendix B. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Authorship...................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................. xi Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xiii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xiv 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Background ................................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Museums in Society .............................................................................................................. 4 2.2 Museum Audience ................................................................................................................ 6 2.3 A Brief Overview of Museum Marketing ............................................................................. 8 2.4 Maintaining Visitation ........................................................................................................ 11 2.5 Hong Kong Maritime Museum ........................................................................................... 14 2.5.1 Target Audience ........................................................................................................... 15 2.5.2 Hong Kong Museums’ Competitive Profiles ............................................................... 19 2.6 The New Central Harbourfront Construction Period .......................................................... 21 2.6.1 Plan for Central Pier No. 8 and Nearby Locations ...................................................... 23 2.6.2 Pier No. 8 Accessibility by Means of Public Transportation....................................... 25 2.7 Potential Challenges............................................................................................................ 27 v 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 30 3.1 Division of Objectives ........................................................................................................ 30 3.2 Projected Visitation for Central Pier No. 8 ......................................................................... 31 3.3 Accessibility Enhancement ................................................................................................. 33 3.4 Visibility Enhancement ....................................................................................................... 36 3.5 Attractiveness Enhancement ............................................................................................... 39 3.6 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 40 4. Results and Analysis ................................................................................................................. 42 4.1 Projected Visitation for Central Pier No. 8 ......................................................................... 42 4.1.1 Museum Visitation ....................................................................................................... 42 4.1.2 Bar and Café Visitation ................................................................................................ 48 4.2 Accessibility Enhancement ................................................................................................. 50 4.2.1 Ease of Access to Main the Entrance ........................................................................... 50 4.2.2 Signage to the Main Entrance and Ease of Access from the General Area ................. 54 4.2.3 Ease of Navigation from the Surrounding Area and Hotels and Other Attractions ..... 57 4.3 Visibility Enhancement ....................................................................................................... 61 4.3.1 Centerpiece Visibility and Local Awareness ............................................................... 61 4.3.2 Public Transport Advertising and Surrounding Area Advertising .............................. 64 4.3.3 Difficulty of Discovery ................................................................................................ 69 4.4 Attractiveness Enhancement ............................................................................................... 71 4.4.1 Centerpiece, Main Entrance, and Main Sign ............................................................... 71 4.4.2 Exterior Exhibits .......................................................................................................... 76 vi 4.4.3 Events ........................................................................................................................... 78 4.4.4 Building Attractiveness ................................................................................................ 80 4.4.5 Bar and Café ................................................................................................................ 82 4.5 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 83 5. Conclusions and Recommendations ......................................................................................... 84 5.1 Main Entrance and Main Sign Recommendations.............................................................. 84 5.2 Museum Offerings Recommendations ............................................................................... 86 5.2.1 Exterior Exhibits and Events ......................................................................................