Contemporary Global Issues in Tourism.

CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ISSUES IN TOURISM 1
Contemporary Global Issues in Tourism
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CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ISSUES IN TOURISM 2
Introduction
Tourism plays a huge role in the economic development of every country. It remains to be the
largest, attractive, and most dynamic industry globally. As such, it is faced by various challenges
that need to be put into consideration for the industry to keep on thriving. Technology
advancement, economic crisis, and safety and security are the three main contemporary issues
affecting tourism worldwide.
Technology advancement
Technology advancement has shaped the field and dimensions of tourism to a larger extent. With
the current age of globalization, every organization needs to embrace the new technology that is
being introduced in the market every day. Technological change and innovation are central to
enhancing operations of the business hence improving the experience of tourists (Xiang, 2018, p.
148). Transport and communication technologies are the two main technological drivers that
influence globalization to a vast scale. Transport technology has enhanced the growth of the
tourism sector by cutting down the monetary as well as time-related costs of travel. Due to its
ability to break down geographical constraints and boundaries it has been regarded as a ‘space
shrinking technology’. Communication technology, on the other hand, has significantly
improved the capacity and speed of communication between tourists and organizations. The
synergy created by the high processing power and speed of the computers as well as the
transmission competencies and efficiency of the digital media has seen the industry expand. The
revolution that has been experienced in global communications has allowed affordable and fast
international communication leading to expansion of the tourism industry (Wahab, 2017, p. 261).

CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ISSUES IN TOURISM 3
Technological advancement, therefore, influences immensely the success of the tourism sector. If
an organization fails to keep up with the innovations, it will fail to remain competitive within the
industry (Nordin and Hjalager, 2017, p. 173). However, those that have invested in technology
they have experienced many breakthrough and attracted many customers. For instance, most of
the aviation and hospitality institutions now provide the option of advanced booking reservation.
The role of the social media also cannot be overlooked especially the use of search engines by
the tourists to determine the best destination. Therefore, they can make connections with the host
institutions and plan for all the requirements. As such, every organization in the tourism industry
need to understand the dynamics of the new technology and any changes occurring, and hence
take the necessary measures for it to remain competitive globally (Nordin and Hjalager, 2017, p.
168).
Safety and security
Safety and security remain to be an indispensable condition for the tourism industry. Although
safety and security have been a major issue for a more extended period, currently it has gained
much attention. Such acts as terrorists’ attacks, pandemics, epidemics, natural disasters, and local
wars have heightened the issue of security in the last two decades (Brondoni, 2017, p. 9). The
tourism industry is growing enormously on a regular basis, and people need to feel safe and
protected. The tourism sector as such is faced with a massive challenge of coming up with
security measures and strategies of ensuring their clients are secure. Although the security level
of any country cannot be 100%, the government of every nation has to come up with ways of
curbing unnecessary threats and attacks. Many tourists as they perform their search for a
destination, the first thing they consider is the political stability of that country. A country that is
faced with many insecurities is likely to make tourists to drawback thereby jeopardizing its