Contemporary Issues and Trends in Travel & Tourism

This report explores contemporary issues and trends shaping the travel and tourism sector. It analyzes factors driving change, including technological advancements, human resource challenges, fuel price fluctuations, taxation, and lack of service differentiation. The report also examines current trends like female solo travel, food tourism, photography tourism, and business travel, highlighting the impact of digital technology and mobile bookings. Strategies for travel and tourism businesses to respond to these changes are discussed, including a PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis of the UK tourism industry. The report concludes by analyzing the impacts of these issues and trends on business, products and services, and employment levels, emphasizing the consequences of failing to adapt to market changes.

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Contemporary issues in Travel & Tourism
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1 Understand current issues in the travel and tourism sector............................................4
1.1 Analyze issues currently driving change in the travel and tourism sector...........................4
1.2 Analyze different current issues using appropriate methods and resources........................5
Task 2 Understand current trends in the travel and tourism sector............................................6
2.1 Evaluate current trends influencing change in the travel and tourism sector......................6
2.2 Analyze a current trend using appropriate techniques and resources..................................8
Task 3 Understand how the travel and tourism sector responds to change...............................8
3.1 Analyze how travel and tourism businesses could respond to change.................................8
3.2 Develop strategies on how selected travel and tourism businesses could respond to change
..................................................................................................................................................11
Task 4 Understand the impacts of change on the travel and tourism sector............................13
4.1 Analyze the impacts of issues and trends that drive change in the travel and tourism sector
..................................................................................................................................................13
4.2 discuss the likely consequences of businesses failing to respond to market changes........14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................15
Reference List..........................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
One of the important industries across the globe is the tourism industry. In the past days, the
activities, which were related to tour and travel only for trade purpose and a massive
requirement of food, has been the sole purpose. At present, the purpose behind travelling has
completely changed. The world is a continuous transforming place, which have a huge
impact on the travel sector and the entire tourism industry, which varies with different places
and varies from one time to another. Today, people travel both for business purpose and also
mainly for relaxation and recreational purpose. With changing time, the travel & tourism
industry has undergone several changes, and the competition in the tours and travel
organization is high. The travel agencies and the tour operators have to make strategic plans
to manage itself with the rapid change in the entire business environment of the business
organization. The travel and tourism industry has shown a huge profit in terms of earning
revenue and gaining profit for tourism sectors and also for the economy of the country. In this
project, the aim of the researcher is to explore all the issues, which is faced by the travel and
tourism business in this present situation. A critical analysis, mentioning the changes, driving
in the travel and tourism organization has been done in this research report. The current
trends which have influenced the travel and tourism companies worldwide, is also mentioned
in this report. The challenges that the entire travel and tourism industry has faced and how
they have responded and faced the risks and challenges has been mentioned in this research
report (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018).
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Task 1 Understand current issues in the travel and tourism sector
1.1 Analyze issues currently driving change in the travel and tourism sector
The issues rather the challenges that have driven the major changes in the travel and tourism
industry currently are as given below:
Changes in Technology:
The change in technology includes the change in the Information and Communication
Technology (ICT). The implementation of ICT has a huge impact and positively influenced
the entire travel and tourism industry (Schegg and Stangl, 2017). The online booking and the
online payment option have highly influenced the lives of the travelers. They can make the
booking for the hotels, food and accommodation online and can make the payment even
online, which not only saves time but also the process is easier instead of physically visiting
and queuing for long hours. Thus, the change in technology has a high impact in the travel
and tourism business organizations.
Human Resource:
The availability of efficient human resource is one of the major challenges that have been
faced by the travel and tourism industry. To maintain the sustainable growth and
advancement of the tours and travel industry, efficient human resource rather a trained
workforce is much more needed at each level. At the top level of the management, the travel
and tourism sector experiences a crisis in talent. On the other hand, in the front line services
such as the receptionist, services like banking, airline, retail and BPO experiences a shortage
in the manpower. Thus, an inexpert workforce could not bring success for any sector. So,
these factors have an adverse effect on the worldwide tours and travel sector. The industry
has to deal with this major issue and work accordingly to meet the challenges at the very
earliest.
Rise in the cost of fuel:
The industry related to the tours and travels, according to the fuel cost, is highly reliant.
There is a high rate of increment in the price of the fuel, which has a huge impact on the
entire travel and tourism industry. Due to the increasing cost, the guests may like to adjust
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their stay and length of the tour, not to pay additional cost for the fuel. The rise in the cost of
fuel is one of the most important issues that should be taken into consideration by the travel
and tourism sector and they have to take innovative measures to deal and face the situation
and make improvements accordingly (Parker and Tyedmers, 2015).
Taxation:
One of the highly taxed sectors is the industry of tours and travel management. The growth of
the travel and tourism industry is highly affected by the huge amount of the taxes incurred.
The taxes are charged for each of the services such as tour operation, airline services, hotel
accommodation, transportation tax; even tax on food is also incurred. This taxation system
differs and varies from region to region. So, the factor of taxation should also be taken under
consideration by the travel and tourism industry (Egger et al., 2015).
Lack of service differentiation:
The standardization that has occurred worldwide has resulted in almost same products and
service throughout the world. Similar services have been provided to people by the travel and
tourism industry worldwide. This factor of providing same services has been major factors
that have a huge impact and influenced the entire travel and tourism industry. In this tourism
industry, there is an existence of large number of business organizations and all these
companies provide almost same services and products to the customers. Thus, due to this
reason, the competition level in this tour and travel industry has become very high. So,
whoever will make change in the quality of service and provides offer, maintaining the
quality service, there is a high chance of the customers to switch to take the offering of that
company. Thus, this factor should also be considered as one of the important issues that
should be handled with proper care.
1.2 Analyze different current issues using appropriate methods and resources
The current challenges that have a huge impact over the tourism industry have been discussed
in the above sections. These issues faced by the travel and tourism industry can be analyzed
by using various methods and techniques. These techniques use various sources, which
includes both the primary sources and secondary sources. The analysis o the market by
conducting several surveys, implementing certain observation techniques is the primary
sources. On the other hand, the secondary sources involves the collection of information from
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various sources like journals, books and online websites to get clear and vivid idea about the
key issues being faced by the business organizations in the entire tourism industry.
The issues rather the challenges and risks that have been discussed affect the travel and
tourism industry and vary from one place to another and also vary from time to time. The
factors may be internal or may be external such as political, social or economic factors which
have a huge influence in the travel and tourism industry. The factors can also include climatic
change or any tectonic factors, including natural calamities like tsunami and earthquakes,
which will have a intense effect on the lives of the people. The advancement in the
Information and Communication technology, particularly the e-Tourism has a huge impact
and leads to the changes in the composition of the entire tours and travel sector. E- Tourism is
one of the major uses of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to encourage
the tourism destination and the major tour providers in order to function in a more efficient
way and to reach the customers throughout the world. The threats faced by the travel and
tourism industry have been improved by the introduction and the implementation of the ICT.
The online booking system has changed the method of tourism sector and it fulfills the day to
day business. E-Retailing has been another important factor, which helps in promoting and
advertising the travel and tourism products of a particular business organization by the
electronic procedure.
Task 2 Understand current trends in the travel and tourism sector
2.1 Evaluate current trends influencing change in the travel and tourism sector
The presently existing trends that influence the change in the tours and travels industry are
stated as follows:
Female solo travelers: Females all over the world may be married or unmarried, or divorcee,
or single mother, travels throughout all alone. This is the new trend that arose in the market
since 2017. Women are leading on their own way and the travel industry should take note of
that. The female in today’s world are bold, independent and they love to explore and gain
new and raw experiences from travelling. They choose their vacations alone. They are not
traveling for 5 star hotels and spa therapies and relaxation, women wants real adventure in
life through travelling. This is one of the most happening trends in the world and the travel
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and tourism industry have to take a look on the factor and make improvements in the
industry, wherever required (Moutinho et al., 2018).
Food tourism: When the travelling counts, one of the main factors in it comes down to the
food. Nowadays Food has become the prime reason behind travelling for a group of travelers.
People are travelling from place to place in order to taste different flavors from each corner of
the world. This trend is tied up undoubtedly with the culture of the location. The tourism
companies have to first note the target audience. If the traveler is a food tourist, then the
organization has to provide accordingly and take all important measures required for food
tourism.
Tour for photography purpose: Capturing the moment and reliving it by watching it in future
gives contentment. So, most of the people take pictures and captures the beauty of nature and
the place, where they visit. Nowadays, photography has become the prime reason behind the
visit to a particular location. Photography has become passion for most of the people
worldwide. People travels all around and capture the best of the moments. They document
their tour entirely. Tour operators have to look in this matter too and if they tap into the trend,
it will be highly beneficial for the entire travel and tourism industry.
Business tours: Nowadays, business tours have also became a major trend. People from
various business organizations manages for business tours, may be monthly or yearly or even
weekly, if it is a high level corporate business organization. The prime purpose behind the
tour will be business and not leisure tourism. Thus, the tour operators have to take special
measures in order to fulfill the needs of the business tourists. Instead of giving relaxing
accommodation, the requirement of the business tourist may be a huge space such as
conference hall to carry forward a business meeting, equipped with all technological
equipments such as laptops, projectors and so on. Food and accommodation is also needed
but a huge emphasis should be given in the part, which is required by the business tourists.
Mobile bookings being the new default: People are self sufficient nowadays. The
implementation of the digital technology has a huge impact and influenced the entire travel
and tourism industry. People can complete the booking procedure within a few seconds; by
just tapping a key may be on the mobile phone or using computers. Thus, being default,
mobile phones and the use of internet has changed both the lives of the people as well as
created a high influence on all the business organizations of this industry (Xiang et al., 2015).
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2.2 Analyze a current trend using appropriate techniques and resources
The current existing trends that are driving the tourism and travel industry have been already
mentioned above. The proper and critical analysis of one current trend has been done using
appropriate techniques and resources (Mariani et al., 2014). The Internet has had a serious
impact on the tours and travel operating industry each for suppliers and customers. This
report classifies and analyzes the wealth of research revealed in major travel and tourism
journals over the past ten years to spot major areas of focus and gaps within the analysis
landscape associated with the net in the sector of travel and tourism. Analysis articles have
well increased in variety over the past five years of the 10-year amount beneath analysis. The
analyses are often classified into seven areas with info search, web site analysis, and net
promoting being the 3 commonest analysis topics. Though Internet-related problems in
tourism square measure unremarkably researched, the research report incorporate additional
case study analysis to be conducted that takes associate e-business and structure perspective,
so that alternative organizations will learn from the mistakes created and moreover observe
the best and take steps accordingly in order to meet the needs of the tourists as well as to
establish and develop the foundation of the tourism organization (Wu et al., 2016).
Task 3 Understand how the travel and tourism sector responds to change
3.1 Analyze how travel and tourism businesses could respond to change
A detailed analysis has been done about how the tourism industry has responded to the
challenges and the risk faced by the industry (Westphal., 2016). To understand the responses,
a PESTLE analysis has been carried out about the tourism industry in UK as shown below:
Political The political factors in UK face the interference
of the Government of the country.
Political factors are one of the most important
factors to be considered in this analysis.
The operation of the country depends on the basis
of the political factors.
During the terrorism campaign, the stability of
this country politically was threatened. But in the
due times, the environment of UK with respect to
politics is more or less stable.
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Economic According to the expenditure of the tourist, the
economic condition of the country is affected.
The inflation in the country can be a reason
behind the economic crisis in the country, which
increased the unemployment rate.
The inflation in this country occurred in the year
of 2009, which adversely affected the tourism
industry.
The rate of inflation lasted till the year of 2012.
Gradually, the economic condition became
stable.
Social Social factors of a country are another important
factor to be considered during analysis.
The lifestyle of the people residing in the country
includes the growth in the population, the trends
that the people are following and the career of the
people.
The tourists may face problem, if they are
unaware about the social changes that are taking
place in the country.
There is a lack in the infrastructure of the country
and it has to be improved, so that a business
organization can exist and maintain the
sustainability.
Nowadays, the people are highly concerned about
the safety during travelling.
Technological Technological innovation that has taken place in
the country has influenced the lives of people a
lot.
The introduction of the digital technology in the
industry has helped both the people and the
industry.
The facility of online booking for transportation
and accommodation has make things easier for
the people and it is beneficial for both the tourists
and the organization.
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Legal The legal factors are also important for the
country and the business organizations of the
tourism industry.
The Government has set certain rules and
regulations, which is needed to be followed by
the business organization, so that they can
establish the foundation of the business.
Environmental Every time, UK experiences strong winds, as it is
situated in the high latitude and the country is
very close to the oceanic area.
The environment of all the travel destinations in
UK is clean and equally attractive.
For critical analysis, SWOT analysis of UK is carried out.
Strengths In UK, lots of attractive tourist destinations exists
such as Paris, Barcelona, London, Rome,
Amsterdam and so on.
Cultural diversity exists in UK, which can be
considered as the major strength for the tour and
travel organization.
There is high convenience for travel and the
highly developed tourism facilities are the
strengths of the industry.
Adequate amount of resources exists, which will
help to create High quality products, which will
be beneficial both for the tourists as well as the
tour operators.
Variation in the supply of products persists.
Strong accommodation facility and the facility of
high tech tour providers are also considered as
major strengths in the industry.
Large and small events of wide range and variety
take place.
Weaknesses Seasonal use of the labor and all other facilities
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can be considered as one of the weaknesses that
the travel and tourism industry of UK faces.
There is insufficient and lack of managerial
skills, which have a huge adverse impact on the
entire industry.
The marketing strategies in UK are a bit
unattractive.
Lack of high quality regular statistic is also
considered as weakness for all the organizations
existing in the travel and tourism industry of the
country.
Opportunities The potential tourism marketing, if combined
with the national levels, will provide huge benefit
for the entire travel and tourism industry.
The changes and the development in Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) has been
a great opportunity for the entire industry.
The potential demand of the customers rather the
tourists for the innovative products have been
considered as a great opportunity for the travel
and tourism industry.
Threats Too much focus on the marketing will lead to the
low quality of products, and that can be treated as
a major threat for the travel and tourism industry.
The climatic condition such as the global
warming and the frequent change in the climate
will also affect the entire tourism industry.
3.2 Develop strategies on how selected travel and tourism businesses could respond to
change
Before developing strategies, it is very important for the business organizations of the travel
and tourism industry to understand the actual meaning of strategy. Strategies are truly
subjective in nature. For making the strategies easier to be understood by all the people
connected with the business organization, strategies can be defined by using roadmap or a
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plan in order to achieve the objective and the purpose of the business organization (Mariani et
al., 2014). Several marketing strategies have been mentioned which will help the tourism
business to give response to the changes. Factors such as the terrorism, health epidemics have
been a major threat for the tourism industry. The advancement in the digital technology has a
huge impact on the lives of the people as well as on the entire tourism industry. Customers
can be able to make their own bookings of accommodation and transport online. The business
enterprises have their own websites, email addresses and the facility of online booking. The
online payment has also influenced the life of people, by making the process easier. Most of
the business travelers follow the tours and travel companies through social networking sites.
The marketing strategies have been recommended to the business organization related to the
tourism industry, so that they can improve the existing business activity of the business
organization and take the business to the top level (Festa et al., 2016). The marketing mix
strategies are as follows:
Product: In this industry, the product means the services, which includes the room service.
So, the business organization has to look after the rooms and maintain the cleanliness and
hygiene of the room for the tourists. Both the interior and the exterior should have to be
attractive in the eyes of the guests and have to be effective too. It can be based on any theme.
This will attract more and more customers towards it.
Price: The price of the accommodation, food and the transportation facility provided by the
business organization to the tourist must be reasonable. Though a huge competition exists in
this industry, still each and every organization existing in this industry has to maintain the
pricing strategy, and should be unique.
Place: The location, where the hotel is situated has to be accessible by the tourist. The facility
of map should have to be provided to the tourists. This strategy should be taken under special
consideration by the business organizations. The place should have all such facilities;
otherwise there would have been no reason for the visitors to select that particular hotel.
Promotion: In this case, the business organization can take the help of social media. For this
purpose, the websites of the particular business organization should be designed well and on
the basis of the customer needs. Digital technology has a huge influence in today’s world.
People can get access to all such information bout the hotel room and transportation facility
through the websites of the organization as well as from social media. Even, the guests can
make their booking and payment from their suitable location.
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Justification:
Justification has been given for the above mentioned strategies. The strategies are highly
efficient and could be helpful for the business organization in this tourism industry to
improve the level of their marketing and the quality of the services and products that they
deliver. The pricing strategy will be beneficial both for the customers as well as for
maintaining the profit of the business organization. On the other hand, the promotional mix is
another important factor that should be considered, in order to excel in the industry in the
long run.The above mentioned strategies can be justified by forming a powerful coalition
with other companies of the same tourism industry. The change in the vision of this industry
can be created in order to justify the strategies mentioned previously. After creating the
visions, communicating the visions are also much important. The operating business related
to travel and tourism have to create short term goals of the business company, which will lead
to the long term establishment of the company in the near future. Within the corporate
business, the industry needs to anchor the changes, in order to make sure that changes are
observed within the business organization.
Task 4 Understand the impacts of change on the travel and tourism sector
4.1 Analyze the impacts of issues and trends that drive change in the travel and tourism
sector
Impact on business:
The issues that drives change in the tourism sector has been already discussed. Those issues
have a huge impact, both positive and negative. This also have an impact on the business
activities of the entire tourism industry. The business organizations, which provides good
hospitality to the customers has faced growth and development in the business to a large
extent. The high end technology has helped them to meet the demands of the tourists. On the
other hand, the condition of environment has highly affected the transportation and the food
department of the organization. The rise in the cost of the fuel price has also affected the
entire aviation industry to a large extent.
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Impact on products and services:
Due to high competition in the market and challenges faced by the organizations, the service
quality has improved. The range of the services provided by the business organizations has
also become diverse. The tour operators provides all such information and facility to the
visitors, they provide them with road map, reservation for transportation as well as
accommodation and food. The service and dimension of the products and the services that
these business organizations are providing to the customers have changed a lot and thus the
issues have a good impact on the products and services.
Impact on level of employment:
There is a positive impact in the case of employment. The business firms require a large
number of efficient employees, who will be able to manage all the operations of the business
organization and will help the organization to succeed. The demand of the customers rather
the tourists are increasing and as the prime objective of the organizations is to provide
customer satisfaction, so the workforce should be high and efficient so that they can meet the
demands of the customers. Thus, the business organizations of the tourism industry are hiring
highly efficient employees
4.2 discuss the likely consequences of businesses failing to respond to market changes
The issue and the challenges that the entire tourism industry has been facing, is discussed
previously. The major impacts that those issues have on the industry, such as the impact on
the level of employment, The impact on the services and products provided by the business
organization and most importantly the impact on the business activities has also been
mentioned. Now, if the organization fails to respond to the changes faced by the market, then
it will be a huge loss for the company. If they could not respond, then the development of the
niche market is nearly impossible. The qualities of service that they are providing to the
customers will also decrease. The tourism industry can never see the large scale of
improvement. The companies have to prepare the strategies in order to achieve success.
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Conclusion
In the research report, it is clear that the tourism industry had a huge growth. The trends have
changed in today’s world and the entire tourism industries have to develop strategies in order
to maintain themselves up with the new trends. The first and foremost objective should be to
provide customer satisfaction, by facilitating them with quality services and products and also
to boost up the profit of the company. The entire tourism industry has a huge impact on the
economy of a country and they are able to connect the whole world together.
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