Current Issues in Tourism Research

This assignment delves into contemporary issues within the field of tourism research. It examines various topics such as the geography of tourism, tourism mobilities, dark tourism, memorable tourism experiences, volunteer tourism, managing change in destinations, and the impact of the internet on travel and tourism. The assignment also highlights the importance of interdisciplinarity in tourism research quality and provides a summary of recent developments in cultural heritage and tourism.

Contemporary Issues in
Travel and Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Obstacles which are responsible for the reform in travel and tourism.............................1
1.2 Analysis of various issues with the use of effective procedure and tools........................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Covered in Poster...................................................................................................................4
2.2 Assessment of the current trends using proper techniques and resources........................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Process of responding to change in tourism sector..........................................................6
3.2 Different strategies used by Cox and Kings to face the change.......................................7
3.3 Justification of the Schemes.............................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1 Influence of issues and trends which which drive alteration in tourism sector................8
4.2 Results of Failure..............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In this era where travelling has become a common activity as there is advancement in
the technology, communication system, open economies, increase in the number of
transportation system and etc. For different seasons there are various tourist destination present
all over the world each person desire for different destinations according to their will. There
might be historic places like monuments, museums, adventurous spots like beaches and deserts
as well as religious places etc. These are the places where someone can enjoy with their family
and friends (Becker, 2016). Tourism is an activity which generates lots of revenues for a country
so nations are putting their efforts to make an environment which attracts foreign tourists
towards their country. This report highlights the contemporary issues in travel and tourism
sector. This will be better explained through taking scenario of one of the biggest travel
companies named as Cox and Kings. Report will highlight various strategies which are taken in
account by the firm to gain competitive advantage in this sector. At last, there will be brief detail
about the influence of barriers and recent trends in travel and tourism sector.
TASK 1
1.1 Obstacles which are responsible for the reform in travel and tourism
Tourism is considered as the fastest growing sector and it is one of them who contribute a
large share in the GDP of any country. This is due to increase in the travelling of people for
different purposes. Due to this, there is debut of various companies in this sector at international
level and the firms like Cox and Kings which is one of the biggest running company in this
segment is generating high revenue from tourism activities (Hall and Page, 2014). They have
presence in different countries and making sure that due to their services, they satisfy the
customers. In this way, they have been successful in keeping their position on the top spot as
their brand value and goodwill is in increasing . They deliver their services to both domestic as
well as foreign tourists (Cohen and Cohen, 2015). But this is the sector where things get changed
according to variation in the interest and tastes of people who wants to travel. So, it is the duty of
manager at Cox and Kings to analyse the preferences of people and know about recent trends so
that they can modify their strategies accordingly. With this, they will get aware about the issues
which are arising in the growth and development in travel and tourism sector. Following are the
certain barriers which are driving change in this segment:-
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Technological Advancement: - Every day, there is up-gradation in the technology and
new things come in the market. These advancements in the technology bring benefits to people
and society which is associated to it in various ways. It brings efficiency in work like it helps
them in reducing the time duration for any work in which they are indulged. There has been use
of telecommunication and internet for anything which is done by individuals.
So, it is the duty of Cox and Kings Company to adopt new changes and use new tools
according to the situation and requirements of organisation (Cohen and et. al., 2014). They can
gain various advantageous, if they use it for online booking and aware people about their
services through online portal and etc. This will also help the customers to book their tours and
hotels through online platform. The problem with them is that that they takes quick decision
which is impacting their business profit.
Requirement of Maximum Security: - This is the factor which can be considered as the
deciding elements for this sector as almost every tourist is concerned about their safety and
health wherever they go. So, Cox and Kings has to put this into the priority list and make tours
according to the requirements of tourists. Other than company, it is also the responsibility of host
country to ensure that tourists are safe in the nation and so, they should give them full assistance.
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Source 1: Cox & Kings offering exclusive Home Stay Holiday packages in Switzerland.
2014

Emergence of New Markets: - In the process of increasing revenue, it is necessary that
the business should be expanded into new countries where they don't have any existence
(Connell, 2013). They have to work on knowing the demands of clients and then try to fulfil it
with certain strategies but if they don't have assets which are required for them then it can
become a barrier for them. This is because; without availability of resources; no operation can be
performed and at the same time, no challenges can be faced.
Current National and International Legislation: - Every country has formed certain
laws and codes which make sure that no tourist in the country face discrimination and inequality
on any ground. So, Cox and Kings has to make decisions through analysing certain rules and
regulations.
1.2 Analysis of various issues with the use of effective procedure and tools.
No one can predict the future problems as it can come anytime without prior information
and this impacts the growth of business of any organisation. These issues influence the profit
margin and brand image if no certain action is taken on time. The manager has to use various
tools and procedure to overcome any problem coming in-between the growth of company. All
the resources and assets should be used in a manner that they don't feel difficulty in attaining
goals and objectives. Every traveller desire for a tour package which can make their journey
memorable and should be on relevant price. Other than this, they also look for the destinations
which is stress free and there they feel safe to travel (Dickinson, and et. al., 2014). The manager
at Cox and Kings is looking for attracting the clients with better packages as they are very much
concerned about customer satisfaction and at the same time, they should also focus on removing
any threats coming in between. According to same, they should modify their plans and policies
as it is the demand of the customers and has direct impact on the recent trends in the sector.
Apart from this there are other problems or issues which are faced by Cox and Kings and
this is coming as the key barrier in their business activities. Following are some of things can
improve their conditions:-
 Improvement in technology due to introduction of modern tools and techniques.
 Debut in the new markets bring an advantage over competitors.
 There can be change in the economic data so to cater to the demand and rising prices they
can modify in their policies .
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It is analysed that management of the company is trying to make effective strategies
according to previous situations but at the same time the recent issues are is also taken into the
account. To make things in proper order there will be modification in the policies and schemes
made by the company and with this effective decisions can be made.
It has been analysed that in UK Cox and Kings use a frisky process of checking system at
airports which is bring a dissatisfaction in tourist. They have ton make thing clear to the
customer and make them aware about the strategy which they will be following. But before
going for any modification it is necessary that the manager should have all the insight and
information regarding the changes which has yo be done and after that things is implemented
with various methods. These are some of them:-
 Primary:- First hand and proper information like personal interviews.
 Secondary:- Any information obtained from the newspapers, any book, literature and
previous data comes in this.
All the current problems can be analysed with the help of primary data and this can be
obtained through framing a questionnaire on the subject. After that all the information will be
given to the clients of Cox and Kings who attached to them so that they can gain knowledge
about the demands and opinion of the travellers (Hall and Page, 2014).
There has been rise in the terrorist activities in UK as the recent bomb blasts has
impacted the tourism in some way so Cox and Kings should be in regular touch with the
government agencies who can inform them about these things. The government has key role in
ensuring the safety of the tourists and make certain laws and norms according to it.
TASK 2
2.1 Impact of recent trends on reformation of tourism sector.
It is very important for a organisation to know various changes in organisation that they face.
In Bound tourism- in this sector organisation measures how many visitors are come to
explore a particular place as well as how likely they enjoy to visit their and what their feedbacks
are -
Summary of UK traveller in
2016
Statistics Change from last years
Number of travellers 30.1 m 5.00%
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Total spending 22.13 m 4.00%
Total number of nights spent 211.2 m 2.00%
Average duration of visit 9.28m -9.36%
Average expend per stay 699 -1.63%
Outbound Tourism- in this process organisation collect data on their local people who
leave their own country and more likely to visit another place. This will collect in data form and
income or expenditure of people before leaving their own place. UK is reduce their own place
and position because there are different people who leave their home town to visit another city as
well. This think is directly affect on economy growth of country and reduce their revenue
directly.
Adventure – Earlier people use to travel for fun or spend time with their family but now
this trend is changing and many people specially youngsters like to visit UK for doing adventure
activities. They are seeking plans which contain adventure games and other activities like
paragliding. Young generation want to make their career in this field and they do not prefer to
stay in a luxury hotel when they are on an adventure. This new trend made a huge impact on
travel and tourism sector and companies operating in this industry are trying to make new
packages which fulfil new type of demands of new generations customers.
Medical tourism – Many people in UK are visiting this country for getting best medical
treatment. They are generally customer who have lot of money and can afford treatment in this
country. Number of this kind of travellers is continuously increasing and many tour operators are
facing difficult to make sound plan for this kind of tourism. This form of tourism made a positive
impact on this sector as it generated a new kind of travelling which was not available earlier.
Their are many companies who are working on making effective plans because customer in this
form of tourisms do not shy to spend more money on stay of hotel and visiting places nearby to
hotel. Although medical tourism is not very popular and it do not have significant contribution
but in this industry but it a growing form of business and it may generate huge revenue of the
companies who are operating in this industry in upcoming time.
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2.2 Assessment of the current trends using proper techniques and resources.
(Covered in Poster)
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TASK 3
3.1 Process of responding to change in tourism sector.
It is observed that all the factors of the travel and tourism are linked to each other and any
change will impact them drastically in there business. In this there exists certain organisation
which does not want to adapt according to the changes as they thing that this will impact their
business in negative way and but in the same there are some who believe that every change is
beneficial to sustain themselves for a longer period of time.
Organisation who are part of the travel and tourism segment uses old techniques to
perform their business activities which is now not a much beneficial method as this does not
yields expected results. They are failing in attaining long term goals as it was formed when the
trends was different from today. This way they regularly encounters problems and brings them
down in the ranking (Luh Sin, Oakes and Mostafanezhad, 2015). To expand into the new market
the airlines company is ready to modify their policies so that they can satisfy the demand of the
customers through delivering world class services. With this they will able to capture the
international market where they have less market share.
So to adopt above mentioned goals the firm needs to know the external environment
which is impacting them. So for this they have to conduct a PESTLE analysis which can be
expanded as political, social, economical and technological. These factors are not same at all
places and vary according to different countries.
Political:- Almost every organisation prevailing in the
business environment aims at expanding their
business operations al over the world but their
are certain political condition which can
hamper their growth in any particular
countries. The reason behind this is that these
factors vary country to country and any
instability in the particular nation may bring
down the market share of the company.
Economical There can be regular change in the exchange
rate which impact the airlines fares from on
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nation to another. They need to take so that
they can earn maximum profit.
Social Society is one of the valuable things for the
business as it is there interest which make
decides the fate of the businesses. So the
airlines need to modify there services as per the
taste of the society.
Technological With the development ion the technology
brings new trends so the company can gain
competitive advantage through brining
advancement in their services. For example;
they can make there services like online this
will reduce workload and increase work
efficiency.
3.2 Different strategies used by Cox and Kings to face the change.
The management of the company has to review their vision and mission in better way so
that they can attain those in certain time period. At the same time they also need to know what
are the short and long term goals. If there will be change in the product and services according to
the needs of customers then this will impact the revenues of the airlines.
International airline group of UK has approx. 450 fleets and they fly to more than 250
destinations. Lbeia and British airways are the companies which has experienced increase in the
revenue because they have adopted according to changes so same with the International group to
update their policies and schemes so that they can increase their profits (Mariani and et. al.,
2014).
British Airways:- This is the airline which holds the maximum markets share as
compared to the other organisations. To deliver the services they are adopting new technologies
so that they can satisfy the new interest of the people. They are also planing to start there flights
to other destination so that they can expand their market.
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3.3 Justification of the Schemes.
Each and every airlines which is an international association is using new strategies to
assist them in the hard times. It is observed that those companies who will adopt unique and new
methods will automatically see rise in their customer base. This will also help them in attaining
the goals and objectives in better way. To face the changes and adapt according to it companies
like British Airways needs schemes to deal with it (McKercher, 2016). There can be hike in the
exchange rate, demand of customers can increase or decrease, variations in the tax rates and etc.
are some of the changes which can happen.
British Airways:- In the certain time period they want to deliver quality services which
will increase their profit margins. So, they frame certain mission which they want to achieve in
minimum duration of time in any situation which they are in. They also have gained knowledge
of the external factors through PEST analysis which can impact their growth.
TASK 4
4.1 Influence of issues and trends which which drive alteration in tourism sector.
Myla which is part of the travel and tourism industry has direct or indirect impact of the
various issues. They are known for their quality and convenience facility. This is a company
which was started with 10 offices in UK and they know that they have to be responsive and
active so that they can modify according to the changes. But there are lots of areas in the
business they can implement the change and some of them are as follows:- Change in Structure:- It can be said that each and every organisation has framed a
structure which they are adopting in order to attain the goals and objectives of their
business. It is the foundation and any change in this puts direct impact on the business.
Some of the change they can acquire can be merger, acquisition and liquidations and etc.
◦ Merger:- It happened when the two companies come together form a new one which
deals with different business (Oviedo-García, 2016).
◦ Acquisition:-This is the another type of change which includes the acquiring a new
companies whose turnover is less and is considered as a small scale. With this they
becomes a single company and there is also new employees and culture. There are
various problems which comes in this as the new will feel inferior and they will feel
that they are less valued in the organisation.
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◦ Liquidations:-It is a situation in which the a firm liquidates its all assets into cash so
that they can pay the debts to the suppliers. There might be situation where they
liquidates those assets which are not used by the company for a longer period of time.
 On Employment Level:- This is the change which is implemented on the employees like
transferring of the employees from one position to another. They can also transfer them
to one branch to another or at different places (Reisinger, 2015). There are various
impacts which can be experienced by Myla as it can improve their performance in the
market but there can be negative impact also like decrease in the sales, increase in the
production cost and etc. are some of them. For example; a employee of Myla performing
well and due to this the companies transfer him to another country but there is no
requirement of it which will impact the business and they may face downfall trend.
 Technology:- Any alteration in this factor will have long term impact on the business of
Myla. Because when there will be technological advancement it may require cost,
acquisition, contracts and skilled labours and etc. So with the analysis of the
technological changes they can make sure that the unnecessary costs to the business can
be stopped (Timothy, 2014).
4.2 Results of Failure.
It has been analysed that to improve the brand image companies are adopting various
CSR activities like planting trees and adoption of the eco friendly ways to generate energy. There
are various consequences of avoiding market changes which are as follows:-
 There is wider influence on the sales and profit of the business so if Myla is not able to
respond to the changes so this will directly put impact on their sales and revenues. So
they have to prepare themselves with certain plans to deal with such challenges.
 The other outcome depends on employers skills and decisions of completing the work
before the decided time so that they can pay back the amount to the suppliers. So it is
necessary that they should develop good relation with the employers (Standing and
Boyer, 2014).
 The last outcome is concerned with the brand image because if any company wants to
improve their image in the market they have to put lots of efforts but it is the single action
which can cause them in destroying their image.
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There are various situation when the organisation does not respond to the trends and follows the
traditional concept which which results them in negative way and their market share goes down.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been briefed that travel and tourism is experiencing high
growth due to increase in the demand. The organisation wants to deliver their services to both
domestic as well as foreign travellers. There are various strategies which was used by Cox and
Kings to ensure that they can easily adapt according to the changes and other than this there was
certain highlights about the Myla travel agency. All these ensures that all the customer needs are
fulfilled through their services so that they can attain goals and objectives which they have set.
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