Contemporary Issues in Travel and Tourism

Contemporary Issues in Travel and Tourism Introduction This report explains contemporary issues that are present in the tourism industry. In this report there is a case study of France, Ghana, Romania and American Airlines-US Airways, which summarized different contemporary issues and solutions to these issues, can be found through different methods like SWOT and PEST analysis. In this paper, an analysis is presented taking in consideration different issues in travel and tourism, supported by case studies. Different contemporary issues have been tried to be supported by authentic case-studies; this paper also carries some suggestions that can be applied to minimize such issues in the present scenario.

Task1 P1 examine the current issue in travel and tourism sector P1.1 Explain the issues which are currently driving change in the travel and tourism sector The transformation in the tourism sector is affected by a number of reasons, and it is due to this change that France has now replaced U.S.A. as the top visited destination. In further section, we will be discussing the reasons for which France now tops the list of the tourism hotspot, globally: From a survey conducted by the French govt., we are able to discover the official stats that France was visited by 84.7 million tourists last year. And this number has given the country the status of being the most visited country globally. Below are the strategies adopted by France to the changes in the tourism department which made it the number one country to be visited globally (ATTWOOLL, 2014)

Paris It is the most romantic and most popular tourist destination in the world. One can easily guess Eiffel Tower (Paris) to be the most reputed landmark in Europe. The tower rises 300 meters tall.

But it has tough competition with London. Today, without any more arguments, the natives of Paris can easily claim Eiffel Tower to be the symbol of City of Light, as hardly anyone could imagine the city without its existence. Along with this Paris have other beautiful attractions like Louvre, Champs- Elysees, Louvre Pyramid and many more. (ATTWOOLL, JOLYON, 2014).

The Weather France lets you the flavour of every delicacy. Be it the gorgeous French Riviera and the Mediterranean climate around it, or the climate of the regions like Aquitaine and Drdongone, France has an impressive variation of climate throughout. The central part of France is known for its archival excellence and impressive architecture. Last, but not the least, Paris, and the northern

and western parts of France have a soothing climate, a fusion of warm summers and cool winters. (ATTWOOLL, JOLYON, 2014).

The fine dining with fine wine In the year 2010, France became the first country to have got it gastronomy recognized by UNESCO known as the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” which globally recognized the French cuisine and for the wine lovers also it’s the place where there search could end (ATTWOOLL, JOLYON, 2014).

Good transport links France is also acclaimed for its transport network; it now tops this list as well by beating the transport network of U.K. It encourages the tourist to come to France as a good transport system plays a huge role for travelling (ATTWOOLL, JOLYON, 2014).

The sheer diversity France is the whole of Europe in one country. Various diversities can be seen here; both physically like mountains, rivers, coastlines, both Atlantic and Med, lakes, plains, great estuaries and anything else you might need, bar icebergs and culturally.

In the north-east Strasbourg, with its Chou croute, beer, Riesling and outrageous head-gear (black bows like crows pinned to young girls’ heads), whereas in deep south-west all the way to Basque Bayonne, full of chaperones stuffed squid, cured ham, berets and dark fellows on white playing the Pelotas – and the maximum brands of foreignness in an European country is provided here (ATTWOOLL, JOLYON, 2014).

P1.2

Explain

different

current

issue

using

appropriate

methods

and

resources

The following are the emerging current issues in the travel and tourism sector (Muqbil, 1999)

Economic impact and leakage from tourism: This is the most important issue; this is a term that can be explained as the manner in which a generated income gets spent or transferred to another country’s economy. It is definitely a significant thing, especially if it’s the case with developing countries. Say a developing country like India or Bangladesh, on leakage of tourism, the money generated on tourism activities gets neutralized. It is one of the core components of international tourism; hence, we can say that each country has certain variables of tourism leakage. Due to this, the developed countries are in a position to earn much more profits than the third world countries. However, encouragement of domestic involvement in a country’s tourism industry may reduce leakage in the long run.

(Muqbil, 1999) Airlines and aviation The manifestation has begun with the global power of the airline alliances. Heavy cost-cutting has taken place in the airlines sector. Privatization of both airports and airlines also helps in cost cutting due to great competition. (Muqbil, 1999)

Holiday trends The World Tourism Organization conducted a study and came out with a about the impacts of global economic change; this in turn, is a trend toward more, but shorter holidays. The reason behind it is time constraints and job insecurities. (Muqbil, 1999) Technology The word ‘travel’ refers to everything from locomotion to travel technology; travel technology was actually linked with the innovation of computerized reservation system in airline sector.

Since travel implies locomotion, travel technology was originally associated with computer reservations system of the airline industry; however, now travel technology is always utilized for tourism sector and the hospitality industry. It includes alternative and innovative options for the consumers, to say dynamic packaging. Even the small companies prosper because of the internet by doing promotion of the tour company and destination at a very less cost than the traditional methods of direct promotions (philipallan, (n.d.)

Environmental issues The increase in the air travel creates a negative effect on the earth’s atmosphere and therefore on its climate which needs to be responded by the travel and tourism industry. Considering the potential ill-effects of tourism among the consumers, the awareness of eco-tourism and sustainable tourism is on the rise. Another issue is Natural disaster for the travel and tourism organizations similar to those of political instability and terrorism. Along with these, human hazards such as transmittal diseases in destinations are a concern for the industry (philipallan, (n.d.)

Task 2 P2 discuss the current trend in travel and tourism sector P2.1 Analyse the current trends that influence change in the travel and tourism sector Following are the different trends affecting the tourism industry in the present scenarios and new trends are noted presently for different types of tourism which have been discussed below: (Richards, 2011)

Hybrid tourism Different forms of tourism are increasing being collaborating with the other areas due to this form of tourism and this result has taken place because of the increase in the mixture of the leisure, tourism and work. Considering all these factors, the tourism industry collaborate with different areas and arising in combinations as hotels with museums and resorts with cruise and other fields, and this type of tourism is being seen in many different countries like in the coastal countries like Australia. There resorts have been collaborated with cruises. (Richards, 2011) Adventure tourism Adventure tourism can be defined as the combination of excursion, excitement, and exploration of experiences with perceived risk. As tourists seek different kinds of vacations, adventure

tourism is rapidly growing in popularity. This may include activities such as rock climbing, rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding, trekking. It was first promoted by South Africa.

Cultural tourism This is type of tourism is concerned with a country or region’s culture. It includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. When people visit a place that is a cultural attraction, but is away from their normal place of residence, it is defined as cultural tourism. The important hing here is that people don’t migrate to a new place in order to gather information, but purely for cultural heritage. The United Kingdom is a perfect example of cultural tourism as it has one of the oldest museums, places, and people are also culturally very rich.

Inbound tourism Inbound tourism refers to the form of tourism when travellers from different countries visit a place. In this kind of tourism, profit comes in for everyone, from hotels to the local people involved directly, or indirectly, with the process of tourism.

Outbound tourism This is the kind of tourism when a person visits a foreign country. Outbound tourism is when someone goes out of their own country. It may be for any reason, a vacation, business etc.

Dark tourism Dark tourism refers to touring sites that has historical association with death and tragedy. It is popularly known as Thanatourism, derived from an ancient Greek term ‘Thanatos’. This literally means the personification of death and even, violent death. It is also termed as black tourism or grief tourism. Globally there are many examples of dark tourism, but in the United Kingdom there are many places of dark tourism and they also have an institute for the study of dark tourism (Johanson, 2012)012).

Religious tourism The other term for religious tourism is faith tourism. In this kind of tourism, visitors travel for pilgrimage, leisure, missionary etc. It is also known as faith tourism. It is a type of tourism, where people travel for missionary, pilgrimage, or leisure purposes. It is mostly conducted in a group, and is gaining popularity among the leisure travel scenario. Religious tourism is immensely reputed among young people as well, when they travel for spiritual purposes. It has a great advantage of appealing to the masses, as almost everyone believes in religion. It is estimated that more than 250 million pilgrims take religious trips every year. (Richards, 2011) P2.2 Explain one of the current trend by using appropriate techniques and resources Further we are going to discuss one of the trends of HERITAGE TOURISM. It is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring. It can be defined as, “travelling to experience the places, artefacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past,” and it includes cultural, historic and natural resources. Below we are going to discuss a case study which is “Heritage Tourism in Romania”:

Heritage Tourism in Romania: Romania is situated in Central Europe. Romania witnessed a national uprising in the month of December in 1989. This resulted in the establishment of republican Romania with a system of more than one party (multi-party system). Thus the implementation of free speech, religion, and private ownership go into effect. The tourists get to experience the visual variations in heritage, culture, scenic glory etc. After attaining the status of a republican nation, Romania had started strengthening its position as a developed market with honed up tourism facilities. This diverse country now welcomes tourists who can enjoy a wonderfully varied heritage of traditional culture, scenic splendours and opportunities for leisure.

Romania has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, making it a good market for tourist-related facilities and services. It has got a place in the United Nations where twenty five sites have been acknowledged by the UNESCO in the World Cultural Heritage (Romania Tourism, 2014; astral

telecom, 2004) Unesco world heritage sites in romania(Romania Tourism, 2014; astral telecom, 2004)

Some of the major attractions of the nation of Romania are its crafted monasteries, fortified churches, modern aged towns, wooden excellencies, and the ancient Daican ruins.These forms together the country’s ruch cultural heritage.

The Monastery of Horezu(Romania Tourism, 2014)

Prince Constantine Brancoveanu founded the monastery of Horezu in 1690. Later the honor of UNESCO World Heritage Site was conferred upon the monastery. It can be the example of cultural fusion, owing to It’s an important diffusion of culture owing to its richness in its sculpture. It is also reputed for its religious heritage as well and paintings. It is the container of a numerous collection of frescoes that dates to the era from the end of 17th century to the beginning of the next century. In 18th century, the painting school of Horezu was quite popular throughout the place. Beside this, the place also displays pottery works and this is a special place for the tourists to drool at.

Apart from this, the castled monastery, some antique items like books, precious articles of silver, limited collection items, embroidered cloth are major worthy pieces. It is also amazing that there is a library in the museum that holds around 4,000 volumes of ancient books. You can also get accommodation facilities there. (Romania Tourism, 2014)

The

Medieval

Fortified

Churches

of

Transylvania(Romania

Tourism,

2014)

A total of about two hundred villages or counties form up the valley of Transylvania. Fortified churches are a special attraction of the place and was established somewhere around 13th-15th centuries. Under the prominence of Saxon (for almost about 900 years), Romania, especially Transylvania is believed to possess a strong cultural belonging. Architecture is also believed to have developed in that era. Such an example can be found out from the fact there were seven of the Saxon era churches that were declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site. If we look for some well-preserved fortifications of the middle aged era, we can claim that the churches of Transylvania are the ones among them. The architecture of the country houses of the place also magnetizes the tourists to approach the place over and over again. It is worth noticing that the lifestyle of the people around the place hasn’t changed over all these years. (Romania

Tourism, 2014) The Historic centre of Sighisoara: (Romania Tourism, 2014)

This historic site was established by the Saxons of Transylvania in the 12th century. It is indeed the most fabulously preserved citadel in the continent. The most authentic thing that attracts the tourists is its architecture. More importantly, this architectural excellence also led to the creation of the fictional character of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is actually believed that Vlad Dracula took birth in this city. The house where he was born is of high interest to the visitors. There are other pieces as well that are of special attraction to the tourists. They are: a hill-church with nearly 500 frescos, the Venetian house, and also, the church of the Domician Monastery. These are also known for a renaissance style of architecture.

Some other tourist attractions are the organ of 17th century and Baroque pulpit. (Romania Tourism,

2014) Painted Monasteries of Bucovina:(Romania Tourism, 2014)

Talking about picturesque treasures, this one is the most prominent of all in Romania. It contains paintings of portraits of saintly men, prophets, entails the life of Jesus, the concept of hell-heaven is also projected. Such masterpieces are painted on the walls and had got initiated in 15th – 16th century. The most reputed monasteries are: Humor, Moldovita, Suceava, Suceava, Moldovita etc. These are well preserved till date. These have also been designated as World Heritage Site. (Romania Tourism, 2014)

Wooden Churches of Maramures:(Romania Tourism, 2014)

The perfect amalgamation of quantity and quality is displayed through these masterpieces. It is a fusion of tradition and trend when it blends the tradition of Eastern Europe in its building ethics, and it also

possesses unique architecture and a variant shape. Some of these wooden churches have been designated as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. They are located in the cities of Barsana, Budesti, Leud, Plopis, Rogoz, Surdesti, Desesti, Rogoz, Poienile, Izei. Barsana, Budesti, Desesti, leud, Plopis, Rogoz, Poienile Izei, Surdesti, have been recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The oldest of them is located in Leud. (Romania Tourism, 2014).

Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains

The fortresses of the Dacain were formed in 1st century BC. Tey were built to protect the empire from the conquest by Roman emperor. Six of the fortresses have also been conferred on the prestigious designation of UNESCO’s World Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management Site (1999). They are: Piatra Rosie, Capalna, Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costesti-Cetatuie, Costesti-Blidaru and Banita. These worked to defend Decebalus. The employment of military techniques plus the architectural structures of the place is really unique. This also differentiates them from the traditional buildings of late European age.

Still there are many issues affecting promotions of heritage tourism in Romania like the websites are not frequently updated concerning the same. This issue is discussed below:

Table 1 : IMPORTANCE- PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS Based on evaluation of 22 websites of heritage destinations in Bulgaria and Romania Website characteristics

Importance (1 to 6)

Ease of navigation (easy movement 3.8 through a web sites’ pages)

scale Performance scale (1 to 6) 3.7

Content of the site (useful information 4.6 and good balance between text and picture)

4.3

4.3

3.8

5.1

4.1

3.4

3.1

Provoking a desire for next visit to the 3.2 web site

3.5

Provoking a desire for a destination visit

3.9

Attractive design and interactivity

Accessibility

Targeted messages and key words

3.4

Importance scale: 1= not at all important; 6- extremely important Performance scale: 1= poor; 6= excellent;(Anastassova, 2007) Romania has a bright future as a heritage destination as constantly the number of tourists increase every year which we (Anastassova, 2007) can see in the following data:

The total numbers of foreign tourists in Romania for the period 2000-2009 are:

(Romanian National Institute of Statistics, 2010) With the help of this project we came to know the current trends in the tourism and travel sector and the new emerging forms of tourism along with this in the second part we got to understand the meaning of Heritage tourism and how Romania fulfils the criteria of being a destination for Heritage tourism and the task was to cover the famous heritage sites present in Romania which plays a significant role for this country in travel and tourism and along with all these, a proper analysing of heritage websites functionality has been done.

Task 3 P3 explain how travel and tourism sector responds to changeP3.1 Explain how travel and

tourism

business

could

respond

to

change

SWOT refers to Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, which is deeply analyzed by a business firm for an organized venture. This is done to conclude that what changes can be made which would be helpful for the development of the organization and to analyse the microenvironment of the organization.

Below is the SWOT analysis of Ghana to understand its micro environment: SWOT ANALYSIS OF GHANA TOURISM Strengths

Weaknesses

1. Quality and diversity of sites, 2.

3.

4.

5.

1. Poor road infrastructure some areas 2. Weak HR base and service levels 3. Sanitation issue (disposals, etc.)

especially beaches, rainforest Good accommodation stock – all levels Cultural festivals, heritage Private product owners committed to community based tourism and sustainable tourism General good access

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Opportunities

around beaches Poor marketing of products Weak coordination (silos) Poor enforcement of by-laws Inadequate funding for tourism activities Expensive transportation (cares, taxis)

Threats

1. Improvement of human resources 2. Getting political commitment at regional level

3. Numerous untapped resources – diversifying the product base 4. Good local tourism market to tap into (expats, miners, oil co.’s etc.)

5. Improved use of transportation facilities

1. Oil

pollution of beaches, overdevelopment and uncontrolled development along beaches 2. Limited staff and skills availability 3. Destruction of environment – animals, mangroves, logging 4. High operational costs (Becherel, 2010)

It is concluded that Ghana should concentrate on reducing threats and creating a better environment and along with this needs to utilize its opportunities so that the tourism industry could flourish in the country.

P3.2 Discuss strategies on how selected travel and tourism business could respond to change

PEST analysis of Ghana PEST analysis is an examination conducted to chart an organization’s long-term plans, by analysing the political-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological factors. In the present situation we are going to do PEST analysis of Ghana and conclude that how these factors affect the tourism environment and will also discuss the strategies by which these effects can be used in a positive manner: Pest analysis of ghana Political 1.

Rate 2.

Prices 3.

A possibility 4. Unsound infrastructure

of of

unemployment getting high a stable working

on power

its i.e. in

nearby

peak inflation future

Economic: 1. The production of oil is expected to achieve phenomenal growth in the coming years.

2.

It highly relies on technical and financial help by other nations.

3. As per the Juan Abdel Nasser led Economy Watch, Ghana is ranked as the most rapid growing country (2011).

4.

Ghana’s tourism industry is its third highest foreign exchange earnings.

5. Ghana’s prime mode of export is done through Gold and cocoa.

Social: 1. The major reason for poverty and underdevelopment in the country is due to its high rate of population growth.

2. Hierarchy is an important concept in Ghanaian culture. Wealthy people or reputed persons are conferred upon with respect.

3. Hardly, the firms get any support from the public sector due to lagging of utilizable resources.

4. There has been a phenomenal growth in the tourist industry since 90’s with the registering an annual growth rate of 12 percent.

Technological: 1. Underdeveloped structure, financially and technologically, is a major concern for Ghana.

2. The thing that has immensely growing in Ghana is mobile telecommunication. Moreover, it is believed to reign over the ICT sector of the whole continent. The telecom industry of the place is worth $1.1. trillion.

P3.3 Analyse strategies for how selected travel and tourism business could respond to change Marketing mix and marketing strategies of ghana Attendance at international exhibitions: It is always worthwhile of attending exhibitions and are taken as long-term benefits; therefore exhibitions in the major source markets should be given investment priority.

Development of integrated and consistent marketing communications: The things that should be able to differentiate Ghana from other competing nations of Africa is its marketing communication. This will help it to gain a brand image. It should constantly ensure that the

core message is done in an integrated manner and consistent. One should also take in consideration the past steps and initiate steps accordingly.

The recommended promotional methods are: 1. Advert sign over roads, mobile advertisements can be good enough to attract visitors.

2.

Advertising over local TV channels 3.

Local newspaper and magazine advertising 4. Outdoor campaigning (global and local) Enhanced links with International Tour Operators and Package Holiday Websites: Tourist destinations that have strong relationships with large international tour operators tend operators tend to perform better than those who do not.

There should be an increase in number of tour operators that offer packages to Ghana. This willhelp the tourist to access the market.

Establishment of tourist information offices: Tourist information services can be well beneficial to bring a sense of trust and clarity in the minds of the tourists. In addition to this, tourist information desks should be equipped with well trained staffs. (tourism ghana, 2012)

Task 4 P4 explain the impact of change on travel and tourism sector P4.1 Examine the impacts of the issues and trends that drive change in the travel and tourism sector Impacts of change-mergers and acquisitions: Below are the factors having impact on the transformation occurred in the sector of tourism: Acquisitions: the buying of one company from another company is known as acquisition. This gives the complete control of the company to the buying company. Following is the example of the same: Mergers: when two companies having the same nature, size and business area combines and forms a new company and dissolves the old companies and combines all their resources with each other (europa,

(n.d.))

Takeovers: this is a situation when one company acquires another company as a whole and the acquired company loses its existence.

Below, the merger of the American Airlines-US Airways is explained briefly: Because of the merger of American Airlines-US Airways, the world’s biggest airline is created. It will still be known as American Airlines; it is now expected to serve an offer of almost a number of 6700 daily flights to 56 nations i.e. 366 destinations.(Haq, 2013)

Below are the main impacts of this merger: Prices: due to the decrease in the competition, the prices of the tickets increase. The expected increase in the price would be between five to ten percent.

Existing bookings: the bookings will be done separately by both the airlines. But the passengers have to face few problems while reserving the tickets like longer reservation lines and computer setback Delays and cancellations: customers may face few pester regarding the cancellation policy and in return of it, there is a hope of a reduction in cancellation rates.

Frequent flier programmers: presently frequent flier programs are carried out; although, after the merger, a similar scenario is doubtful.

Destinations: an increase is expected in the destination option after the merger due to less overlapping Service: because of more assets due to the merger, better services are expected like better seats, better experience and better Wi-Fi facilities. (Haq, 2013).

P4.2 Explain the likely consequences of business failing to respond to market changes Consequence of fail in responding to change: According to certain surveys, it has been found that such a merger might bring out gains for the company, however, passengers feel left-out. Its consequences are likely to be faced by American-US Airlines.

Hence, it needs to be sorted out.

Sales and profitability: an increase in the sale and profits is expected but if considerable measures are not taken regarding the services to customers then this will not remain in the long run as it’s not a monopoly for them, American Airways still exist to give competition to them (Haq, 2013).

Profit margins: due to the hike in the prices of tickets the company is getting high profits, but it’s a problem for the customers (Haq, 2013).

Change in attitudes of customers and competitors: Customers: The change in the attitude of the customers are noted because of the hike in prices especially regarding cancellation prices and frequent fliers are also going to lose their miles as the merger would create chaos

(Haq, 2013).

Competitors: The chaotic situation arising from the merger can give a chance to the competitors where they can take advantage of the short comings.

An advantage can be taken by the competitors by attracting the customers facing the high cancellation prices by reducing the price for the same.

Along with all this by offering less prices for tickets the customer can be attracted. (Haq, 2013).

What American Airlines-US Airways should do?

1. The booking and cancellation policies should be managed properly.

2. Better services should be offered to attract the customers.

3. Rather than focusing only on profit making the customer satisfaction should also be considered

4. There should not be unnecessary hike in the prices rather the pricing policies should be fixed considering the market competition.

5. Better strategies should be adopted by taking the market competition in mind(Haq, 2013).

Conclusion In this report there is a brief analysis of contemporary issues that are present in the sector of tourism.

Through this report, a brief case-study is presented that is done over France, Ghana, Romania and American Airlines-US Airways, and along with this a proper analysis of different contemporary issues has been done. We have tried to find solutions to these issues through different methods like SWOT and PEST analysis. Practical applications have been discussed in this paper by highlighting crucial issues that are highly contemporary in nature.

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