UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM



UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

Technological change 1

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The World Tourism Organisation says that "Technological innovations have developed at an extraordinary pace in recent years, and all the signs are that they will continue to do so. Of these, two are especially important:-

Global distribution Systems

o Whilst Global Distribution Systems (GDs) originally provided a booking capability for just scheduled air seats, they have now expanded to encompass a range of bookable travel products including cruise, car rental and accommodation. The accommodation (or hotel) sector has been particularly keen to obtain contribution via GDs and has introduced its own systems to help lk to the GDs. Nevertheless, only 10 % of revenue brought in by GDs comes from non-air products.

o The GDs environment itself is ideally suited to a global technological infrastructure, such as the Internet. Therefore, it is unsurprising to find moves by all the GDs towards becoming major players in the sale of travel products on the Web.

E-commerce

o The fact the travel and tourism can be considered an intangible, electronic product at the point of sale makes it suitable for marketing and selling online.

o The direct selling potential of the Internet not only allows suppliers to reach a global market, but also reduces administration costs.

o All projections maintain that air travel holds the largest percentage of online travel and tourism bookings, and that this will remain a dominant feature of travel e-commerce."

E-tourism, e-commerce and e-retailing

o E-tourism (online tourism) has grown dramatically since 2000. See e-tourism newsletter[pic] (note the increasing rejection of the major portals Travelocity and Expedia by the e-travel bargain-hunter sites) and Trends in European Internet Distribution of Travel and Tourism Services[pic] (Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Denmark)

o E-commerce too has a very significant impact on tourism. See Electronic commerce and tourism - New perspectives and challenges for developing countries[pic] United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, July 2000

o The internet has become a credible sales channel. See TEAM (Tourism Enterprise and Management Ltd.)[pic] (Canadian travel consultants) and New trends in Internet marketing and sales[pic] (highlighting the position in Estonia), Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Denmark

Development of ICT

Travel and tourism has become the single largest category of products/services sold over the Internet and the proportion of business being transacted through this medium is constantly growing. See Resource Guide to Information & Communications Technology (ICT)[pic] (Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network)

Worldspan (based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA) advertises itself as having "a complete array of products and services for planning, booking, and managing travel." (Its first product was a reservations system for Delta Airlines in 1968). Various products cover different areas of the industry. For example:-

o Airlines Rapid Reprice[pic] recalculates fares when itineraries change

o Corporate Travel Trip Manager[pic] streamlines and controls corporate travel

o Travel Agencies Tour Source [pic]is a vacation and tour booking system

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UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

Socio-economic change 2

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Globalisation has a major impact on the travel and tourism industry, at every level. The negative effect of globalisation in the tourism industry is highlighted at Globalisation - tourism the new imperialism[pic] Keith Parkins via the Gaia network, March 2000 - not a balanced view, but powerful.

Developments in transport have driven the increase in tourism - see Transport, especially air transport

The spread of disease as a result of the removal of barriers to trade. Removing trade barriers has allowed the spread of SARS and foot-and-mouth disease, and that has impacted on global tourism - see Microbial Migrations[pic], the Orion Society, Massachusetts, USA

The effect of tourism development in poorer countries. See Unit 11, Impacts of tourism. Tourism can also have a far-reaching social impact on countries in the developing world - see The economic and social impact of tourism[pic], a study of Pagsanjan in the Philippines, which shows that while the impact of tourism "on environment and on the people’s social life has been a mixture of positive and negative results, its impact on income distribution has been trifling".

UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

Political changes and security issues 3

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Political and economic change

o The Balkan countries are an example of political and economic change following the removal of the 'Iron Curtain' and recent entry into the EU - see Need to accelerate the development of tourism in central and eastern Europe[pic], Council of Europe, December 1997

o Global Tourism Trends and Prospects for Central and Eastern European Countries[pic] (presentation by Mr. Andrey Shlevkov at Zakopane, Poland, 13 December 2002, to the World Tourism Organisation)

Security issues

o The increase in terrorism - see External pressures

o British High Commission, Islamabad[pic]

UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

Environmental changes 4

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Global warming and the effect on climate. The earth's gradual warming has far-reaching effects on the tourism industry. Heat waves, droughts, rising sea levels, flash floods, forest fires and disease 'could turn profitable tourist destinations into holiday horror stories'. See global warming threatens tourism[pic] (BBC report on WWF study).

Freak weather conditions like hurricanes and tsunamis can severely affect tourism - see Media and Natural Disasters[pic] 2005 and Tourism after the tsunami[pic] (BBC Radio 4, Excess Baggage, February 2005.)

But while global warming may adversely affect tourism, there is also strong evidence that tourism is a contributor TO global warming - see Climate change and tourism[pic] (World Tourism Organisation report)which indicates the effects of air and road transport, the stresses on flora and fauna and, particularly, consumption of water by tourists. "Tourists' water consumption was far in excess of that of local residents and that much of the resulting water stress arises in regions and areas which already suffer from inherent water shortages. The concentration of tourism in certain regions of the world places stresses on the local flora and fauna which in many cases are what tourists come to see; such stresses themselves may exacerbate the adverse effects that climate change is already having on the ecology."

See also Unit 11, Impacts of tourism

UNIT 11 - IMPACTS OF TOURISM

Environmental impacts 1

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Students need to learn learn what is meant by the term 'responsible tourism' so that they can describe how this approach to tourism development is different from other types of tourism. The principles of responsible tourism are applied where tourism development:

o minimises negative economic, environmental, and socio-cultural impacts

o creates economic benefits for local people and improves their quality of life

o promotes the conservation of natural and cultural heritage

o promotes respect between tourists and local people.

Remember that numerous organisations have been responsible for tourism development in the past, and only recently have become aware of the environmental impact of their strategies.

o private sector organisations, which are principally profit-orientated, but increasingly aware of customers' concern for the environment

o public sector organisations, where there may be a conflict of interest between their requirement to maximise the contribution of tourism to the local or national economy and their environmental responsibilities

o voluntary sector organisations, which provide most of the pressure for environmental concern, though they too have to fund themselves to survive.

Definitions and principles of responsible tourism

o What is ecotourism?[pic] UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). This highlights the importance of involving local and indigenous communities in tourism planning.

o [pic]. "Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise that we canot eat money" - Cree Indian, 1909 - quote from the Responsible Travel website.

o Exodus Travel[pic].

o World Travel & Tourism Council links to Green Globe (GREEN GLOBE 21 is the worldwide benchmarking and certification program which facilitates sustainable travel and tourism for consumers, companies and communities), Agenda 21, sustainable tourism. The WTTC reminds the industry that it, the industry, "has a vested interest in protecting the natural and cultural resources which are the core of its business. It also has the means to do so. As the world's largest industry, it has the potential to bring about sustainable development of the communities and countries in which it operates."

Remember that there are different types of responsible tourism:

o alternative tourism - see Ecoturismolatino [pic]

o sustainable tourism - see National Geographic online[pic]

o green tourism - see Visit Scotland's Green Tourist Business Scheme[pic]

o ethical tourism - see [pic]

Developing responsible tourism

o Thomson Travel Group and follow the link to 'Thomson commitment to sustainable tourism'.

o Federation of Tour Operators Responsible tourism: best practice [pic]

o The Greenstop Destinations Directory[pic] identifies hotels, conference venues, holiday and travel companies which are making a genuine effort to work in an environmentally responsible manner.

o Responsible Travel in the UK[pic].

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