Tourism Intermediaries and Distribution

This assignment delves into the evolving landscape of tourism distribution with a focus on online intermediaries. It examines how these platforms influence service quality differentiation, analyze seasonal demand patterns in tourism, and discuss the role of online intermediaries in promoting sustainable tourism practices. The analysis draws upon research papers that shed light on the impact of online booking sites, review portals, and collaborative consumption models within the tourism industry.

Running Head: COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 1
Competition between the government and the private sector within Tourism Distribution
Systems
Name
Institution

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 2
Introduction
Tourism industry plays a vital role in the growth and development of nations GDP and
therefore the sector presents great opportunities for investment for both the government and the
private sector. The travel and tourism industry has indeed become a major source of wealth
creation for many nations and due to this fact it has attracted the interest of many investors both
from the government sector as well as the private sectors (Weidenfeld et al., 2014). As a result of
this, the industry has grown its competitive nature and especially between the government and
the private investors with the industry encouraging the partnerships or the involvement of the
two sectors in the growth and development of sustainable tourism business. One of the salient
features of the industry has been the tourism distribution systems which have been developed to
enhance the operations of the industry in service provision. Both the private sector and the
government or the public sectors have therefore invested in the development of tourism
distribution systems or channels a move that has increased competition in the industry. This
essay, therefore, seeks to analyze competition between government and the private sector within
the Tourism Distribution Systems.
A brief understanding of Tourism Distribution Systems
Tourism distribution systems can be understood as an operating structure, a linkage or a
system of a number of combinations of an organization or industry, through which a company
product describes, sells or even confirms a travel arrangement to the buyer (Li et al., 2015). It
can therefore be seen as an approach or strategy developed by the tourism industry to offer an
online platform in tourism distribution and technology systems that connects different customers
or clients in the industry, websites, and tourism operators as well as travel agents to a wider

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 3
range of tourism travel products and their packages using the distribution and technology
systems.
The development of the tourism distribution systems was due to the fact that internet has
become a very powerful marketing tool in business development and has been found to increase
the scope and reach of consumers as well as facilitating them to make choices from hundreds of
options or even research destinations the system offers consumers and corporate buyers or clients
and customers access to different offers made by the suppliers and therefore supports the
argument that distribution indeed has become a critical aspect in enhancing the ability of the
tourism industry to achieve its profitability goals or levels and market share (Shi & Li, 2014).
The system supports the industry to offers aimed at their clients by other companies as well as
provide a basis for competition among the service providers in the sector or even the suppliers
and therefore enables their clients or customer both potential and existing one to compare offers
from a wide variety of suppliers (Frew & Williams, 2014). Therefore the development of the
tourism distribution system is important in the tourism industry since these companies or the key
players in the industry deal with services which are in most cases intangible, perishable and also
because the industries or companies operate globally.
Competition between the government and the private sector within the tourism
distribution system
Competition in an industry between different sectors can either be advantageous to the
growth of the industry or even have a negative impact on the growth of the industry. Competition
in the Tourism industry has continually increased due to the growth of the industry and its ability
to create wealth for the nation (BADER, 2017). The productivity of the industry and the returns

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 4
on investment has increased leading to many investors investing heavily in the industry. Service
provision is seen as the heart of the industry and therefore competition in the industry has been
focused on customer service delivery and ability to maintain rapport with different clients. Client
or customer satisfaction has been the industry core challenge due to the changing tastes and
preferences of consumers as well as the existence of many players unlike before when the
industry was dominated by the government agencies alone and tourism was only seen as revenue
collection opportunity for the government (de Carlos et al., 2016). However, with increased
privatization, the government has been able to allow the private sector to venture into the
industry and has, in turn, led to increased competition which has greatly influenced the success
of the industry in terms of service provision.
The development of the tourism distribution system was a competitive strategy to
enhance the performance of the industry through increased and improved service delivery.
Therefore one of the major competition areas between the government and the private sector in
the development of the distribution systems was in the area of provision and financing of tourism
infrastructure or in the financing of the development of the distribution systems (Dziuba, 2016).
The public sector has been reluctant in adopting innovative techniques and sometimes the
budgeting off such a measure takes a very long time before implementation and therefore faces
competition from the private sectors that are always opportunistic in taking chances which will
give them a competitive advantage in the industry. Therefore the private sector has greatly
developed its tourism distribution systems through the development of websites which are
customized to meet specific consumer needs. The government or the public sector has lagged
behind in adoption and implementation of the effective supportive structures which will improve

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 5
the existing distribution channels whereby the public sector has been relying on the use of the
travel agents and therefore calls for improvement as these travel agents may not be effective
enough in meeting the demands of their consumers (Ivanova, 2017). The private sector has
greatly invested in the development of tourism infrastructure through the establishment of
customer or client-centered mechanisms which a diversified into different consumers interests
and others to the targeted consumers. As much as the government or the public sector has
equally invested in the industry in the development of the appropriate structures the private
sector has been more dynamic and diversified which has enabled them to become serious
competitors to the public sector.
Competition on the Tourism industry between the government and the private sectors has
also increased due to abilities of the sectors to innovate new products and services which will
help them attract more customers through their online platforms (Akçura et al., 2015). The
private sector has invested more in new innovation in the industry by coming up with strategies
which will help the companies meet the existing market gaps in the industry. They have
improved their websites by customizing them and allowing a display of their offers where the
consumers of clients can have a look at them and compare with those of other companies. In this
way, they can determine or evaluate what other companies are offering and innovate products
and services which will give them a competitive advantage in the industry. On the other hand,
the public sector has lagged behind in adopting innovation through the use of improved and
advanced technology (Coshall et al., 2015). They are still using the travel agents and tours and
have over-relied on them and in their capacity to offer quality services to the tourist. Lack of
innovative power by the public sector in the tourism industry has made their services so common

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 6
to the tourists who have different tastes and preferences and therefore they keep demanding for
more quality services (Mehdi, 2017). However despite the competition occurring in the industry
both the private sector and the public sector are encouraged to partner together in improving the
tourism distribution systems. This will help in promoting fair competition in the industry which
is healthy for the industry. This is because both the private firms as well as the government bring
or ad distinct advantages in the development of the tourism industry.
Conclusion
Tourism distribution systems, therefore, play a very important role in growth and
development of the tourism industry. A healthy competition in the industry between the public
and the private sectors is encouraged. Both the sectors should partner together in developing
systems which will help in improving service provision in the industry which will lead to
increased profitability of the private sector as well as increased GDP on the side of the
government (Desai & Eric, 2015). An effective tourism distribution system will, therefore,
influence the behavior of customers positively towards the company tourism products and
therefore determines the ability of the industry to respond to customer or consumer requests
efficiently. The system should be simple to use and able to meet the demands and concerns of the
both prospective and existing consumers of their services. The system should promote effective
online interactions with the consumers and the company. Competition should, therefore, be fair
to the government and the private sectors so that the tourism industry can grow and improve in
terms of service provision.

COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 7
References
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Coshall, J., Charlesworth, R., & Page, S. J. (2015). Seasonality of Overseas Tourism Demand in
Scotland: A Regional Analysis. Regional Studies, 49(10), 1603-1620.
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COMPETITION WITHIN TOURISM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 8
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