Tourism Industry Trends and Challenges

This assignment delves into current trends and challenges facing the global tourism industry. It examines topics such as sustainable tourism, climate change impacts, innovation in hospitality management, and the influence of technology on travel experiences. Students are expected to analyze various research articles and online resources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolving nature of tourism.

Travel and
Tourism sector
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
P1.1 Key historical developments in travel and tourism sector of London ................................3
P1.2 Structure of travel and tourism industry of London ...........................................................4
Task 2 ..............................................................................................................................................5
P2.1 Function of government, sponsored bodies and international agencies in travel and
tourism UK .................................................................................................................................5
P2.2 Local and national policy influence on success of travel and tourism sector of UK ..........6
P2.3 Implications of the political changes on travel and tourism sector ....................................6
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................7
P3.1 Factors affecting demand of tourism ..................................................................................7
P3.2 Supply changed to meet the effects of demand ..................................................................9
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................10
P4.1 Main positive and negative impact of tourism on economy, environment and society . . .10
P4.2 Strategies which can be used to minimize the negative impact and maximize positive
once ...........................................................................................................................................11
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................12
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
In recent years, travel and tourism sector has emerged as one of the most growing and
potential sectors of the world. Along with this, high growth rate in this sector is witnessing very
tough competition among businesses. The present report demonstrates the key historical
developments in travel and tourism sector in London. In addition to this, it also highlights the
structure of travel and tourism sector. Functions of government and other regulatory bodies in
this sector have also been explained in this report. Some of the important factors which affect the
demand of tourism are also mentioned in this report.
TASK 1
P1.1 Key historical developments in travel and tourism sector of London
London is considered as one of the most famous tourist destinations all over the world as
it attracts more than 30 million visitors every year. The vibrant culture and amazing monuments
are some of the things which attract people from different countries of the world. The history of
travel and tourism sector in London begins with the primitive era in which the concept of
travelling from one place to another was not so common. One of the only reasons of travelling
was to visit holy places (London's Tourism Industry, 2015). In the modern era, travelling is done
with the main purpose of either leisure or for any business purpose. During the time of primitive
era, the reason of travel was linked with one thing that was to visit religious destinations. As the
time changed, the concept of travel and tourism also started to change. It can be stated that it was
between the year 1660 to 1840 that people started travelling for other purposes rather than for
holy purpose. This period was the time in which first grand tour was introduced in market for
people which belongs to high income group. The grand tour was sponsored by different parties
and the tour ended up becoming a great success (Bernick and Boo, 2013). One of the major
objectives of this tour was to make people aware about the culture and lifestyle of other cities,
areas and countries.
The industrial revolution is considered as the period of transformation in the entire travel
and tourism sector of London. It was in the period of 18th and 19th century in which major
changes happened in this sector. Along with this, companies such as Thomas cook as well as
Cox and Kings were also emerged in this period only (Donohue, 2007). Many new tourism
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destinations were developed and the number of travellers in London also enhanced. The concept
of package tour also developed during this particular year only. Later in the year 1969, the very
first act related to travel and tourism sector was developed. Slowly the concept among people
regarding the use of travel related services and visiting the destination started to grow. In terms
of society, it can be stated that the perception of people in market changed and they started to
visit other countries to see their culture, destinations and other things. Before the beginning of
20th Century, the major development in infrastructures took place in which facilitates such as
road and transportations were developed for some destinations (Barrett, 2012). In both natural
destinations and manmade destinations, these developments took place. In the 20th century,
technology is introduced in travel and tourism sector in which some businesses started to offer
tours and providing travel related services via online.
P1.2 Structure of travel and tourism industry of London
The travel and tourism sector of London consists of six major components which are
visitor attractions, accommodation, transportation, travel agents, tour operators and tourism
development authority. In terms of visitors attraction, it can be stated that these destinations are
either man made or are developed naturally (Bunja, 2003). For example, Blackpool beach and
Lake District are considered as some of the famous natural visitors attractions. On the other side,
manmade attractions such as Alton towers is one of the best examples of visitor attraction. The
second component of London travel and tourism sector is transportation which plays a major role
in the growth and development of this sector. Further, better transportation facilities makes it
very convenient for tourist to visit their respective destinations. Rail, road, air and sea are the
major sources of transportation within London (Trunfio, Petruzzellis and Nigro, 2006). Another
component of travel and tourism sector is accommodation which includes various kinds of hotels
and other service providers. In addition to this, there are tour operators whose main motive is to
produce and sell tour packages related to various destinations. Travel agents are also considered
as one of the major parts of the travel and tourism industry as they act as a link between general
public and tour operators. At last, this sector consists of tourism development in which there are
various regulatory bodies whose work is to take care of the practices and activities related to
travel and tourism in London. Integration of all these components is essential for the success of
the sector. It can also be stated that all of them share interdependent relationship with each other
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(Chen and Choi, 2008). For instance, if visitor attractions are developed in an effective manner
but transportation facilities are not appropriate, then tourist cannot be attracted effectively for a
particular destinations. The same thing is linked with the other components of travel and tourism
sector. In order to earn higher revenue and growth rate, all the components mentioned in the
structure are required to be effective and efficient. Development authority is required to take care
of the fact that all the laws and regulations which have been developed in terms of travel and
tourism are strictly followed by all the other components. There are many public and private
businesses which operate in this sector of London and regulatory bodies are required to ensure
that a policy of fair practices and charges is adopted by all these firms (Clarke and Chen, 2012).
Different kinds of services which London offer has a direct impact on the future sales and
profitability of travel and tourism sector.
TASK 2
P2.1 Function of government, sponsored bodies and international agencies in travel and tourism
UK
The main role of government, sponsored bodies and international agencies in travel and
tourism UK is to make sure that all the regulations and policies which has been developed in
context of travel and tourism are strictly followed or not. Management and marketing of travel
and tourism sector are the two core functions of government bodies developed at local, regional
and national levels.
In recent years there are many destinations developed in London and these destinations
are taken care by bodies at local, regional and national levels. These bodies also present report of
revenues earned and expenditure made by the travel and tourism sector of London. This further
facilitates in determination of the growth rate and overall profits made by sector in one particular
year. On the other side of this, there are some international agencies such as United Nations,
World Tourism Organization, Civil Aviation organization, International Air Transportation etc.
World Tourism Organization's main function is to promote responsible, universally accessible
and sustainable tourism (Stamboulis and Skayannis, 2003). In addition to this, it focuses on both
environmental sustainability and economic growth. On the other hand, Civil Aviation
organization's main function is to plan and develop international air transportation. This
organization makes sure that air transport is focusing on both growth as well as safety of
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passengers. United nations also plays very important role in the travel and tourism sector as it
deals with the development of rules, plans and policies related to this sector. Every businesses
that operates in travel and tourism sector is required to adhere these policies and rules. All these
regulatory bodies have direct relationship with government (Stone, 2013). It can be concluded
that the major function of government and these bodies is to ensure that the customers in travel
and tourism industry do not get exploited. World tourism organization is an agency which
performs the function of managing and promoting sustainable and responsible tourism. Further
it is also considered as one of the leading and renowned organization in the travel and tourism
sector of the world. It promote tourism in many country which provides driving force to the
economic development of all its member countries. Other than this, World tourism organization
also perform activities such as promotion and marketing of tourism and competitiveness among
all its member countries. International Air Transportation association (IATA) is a trade
association which has been developed for the world airlines. Further the association includes 260
airlines which is near about 83% of the total air traffic (Barrett, 2012). The major function of
IATA is to support and deal with the issues faced by airlines. Some of its key priorities includes
expansion, reduction of airport charges and increasing fast travel capabilities.
P2.2 Local and national policy influence on success of travel and tourism sector of UK
It can be stated that the national and local policies have an direct impact on the activities
and operations of travel and tourism industry. Majority of the times such kind of policies are
developed with objectives such as elimination of customer exploitation, fair competition among
business operating in travel and tourism sector of UK etc. The local polices developed in UK
focuses on environmental protections whereas the national policies deals with issues such as
declining number of tourist, low revenues etc. Such kind of policies have both positive as well as
negative impact on the success of travel and tourism sector of UK. In terms of negative impact,
these policies forces all the businesses which operates in this sector to use more sustainable
practices and take care of environment (Theobald, 2013). In recent years the activities of travel
and tourism directly had an adverse affect on the society and environment.
Cutting down of tress and destruction of wild life is done to a great extent for developing
tourist destination. The growing use of adventurous and wild life tours has also become a threat
for environment. All the businesses operating in travel and tourism sector are required to make
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sure that all the practices and activities should not have any kind of negative impact on society
and environment. Further both the policies developed at national and local level encourages
businesses to lower down their negative impact on environment. This has increased the cost and
efforts of the firm as they are required to adopt more sustainable practices. Organizations in
travel and tourism sector of UK are required to become aware of the fact that sustainable
practices may create issues in short run but for long run they are very beneficial (Trunfio,
Petruzzellis and Nigro, 2006). Adopting such kind of practices will help businesses to create
satisfaction among people in the market. In addition to this, they start feeling that firms are really
taking care of the environment and society. Therefore, it can be stated that national and local
policies have both negative and positive impact on the success of businesses in travel and
tourism sector of UK.
P2.3 Implications of the political changes on travel and tourism sector
Any kind of changes in political environment of a country has an direct impact on its
travel and tourism sector. It can be also stated that there is an serious impact of political changes
as they directly result in increasing the threat of fear and safety. The implications of political
changes on UK and three different countries are mentioned below as:
UK
The political parties
have affected the
travel and tourism
industry to a great
extent. In positive
aspects it can be stated
that the sector has
always got support
from government. On
the other side, the
sales and profitability
has lower down
terrorist attacks and
India
The political changes
has affected India in
positive terms. Further
political parties in the
country has always
supported growth and
development of
tourism (Hall and
Clayton, 2009). Many
new destinations have
been developed and
the travel and tourism
sector has also grown
China
Travel and tourism
sector of China has
been affected by its
political changes. Now
political parties are
forcing the businesses
in travel and tourism
sector to use more
sustainable practices.
This has lower down
the sales and
profitability of the
Thailand
In recent years the
protest against
political parties has
resulted in great loss
of tourism money. The
political instability in
country has resulted in
decreasing the number
of tourists (Korstanje
and George, 2012).
One of the major
reason behind this is
that the political unrest
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instability with a good rate. entire sector. forces people to think
twice before going to
any of the country.
TASK 3
P3.1 Factors affecting demand of tourism
There are several factors which directly or indirectly affects the demand of tourism in a
country. Some of the major factors are explained below as: Technology- With the help of technology, TUI group can effective promote and advertise
all its holiday packages. For example social media and email marketing can assists the
group to create need and demand of its holiday packages. The use of social media and
email will help in creating more and more awareness in the mind of customers (Chen and
Choi, 2008). Therefore, it can be stated that effective use of technology will have direct
impact on demand of holiday packages. Emerging economy- The economy will have direct impact on demand and sales of
holiday packages which has been provided by TUI group. Growing economy means that
people income and living standard is increasing. Further they will be left with more
money which can be spend on activities such as leisure and travelling. Poor economic
conditions will results in making the people left with very less money. This will directly
leads to decline in the demand of holiday packages which has been provided by TUI
group. Political stability- Nations which do not have any kind of political stability are not able to
attract more number of tourist. Further majority of the people in the world do not prefer
to become tourist of a country which is not stable in terms of politics (Manente, 2000). If
the county if political stable then the interest and tax rates will be convenient. This will
affect the demand of services and holidays packages which are offered by TUI group.
Political instability means that very less people will be interested in visiting the country
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and its destinations. This will further results in lowering down the demand of holiday
packages related to country which is facing political instability. Influence of exchange rate- If the value of Pound increases in comparison with any other
currency then people of other nation will not prefer to buy holiday packages of UK by the
TUI group. Along with this, the demand of packages among people of UK with regards
to other countries will increase as they will receive more foreign currency at the time of
exchange (Chen and Choi, 2008). Interest rates- Interest rates prevailing in a country also makes a powerful impact on the
sales and demand of services of tourism. High interest rate will decrease the overall
demand of the holiday packages which has been provided by TUI group. The rationale
behind this is that high rates will results in less money left with people. Therefore, their
spending on services related to travel and tourism will direct gets low. On the other side
of this, low rate of interest will increase the demand of holiday packages which has been
provided by TUI group as people will left with more money.
 Disposable income- If the disposable income of citizens of UK is not high then the
demand of tourism will be low as they will be spending less of their money on such
activities (Pan, 2008). High disposable income will create demand of holiday packages
provided by the group among people. Further the money left with people can be spend on
travelling other counties. On the other side of this, if the disposable income is low then
people will be more interested in satisfying their basic needs.
P3.2 Supply changed to meet the effects of demand
The effects of demand can be lower down with the help of changes in supply. UK is
considered as one of the most renowned tourist destination all across the world. Further there are
many people which visit the country (Bernick and Boo, 2013). It has been observed that there are
various factors which are affecting the demand of tourism services of the country. The effects of
demand can be meet with the help of some changes in supply which are explained below as: Accommodation- Tourist in UK belongs to three major groups which are high income,
middle income and low income. Further visitors of high income group seeks for
accommodation in luxury and five star hotels whereas low income group looks for
affordable and low budgeted hotels. The kind and level of accommodation which has bee
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provided by TUI group have an direct impact on its demand. Better and satisfactory
accommodation creates high demand of packages in the mind of customers. on the other
side of this, if the accommodation is not satisfactory then people will not use the services
and packages which has been provided by TUI group for next time. This will also lower
down the rate of customer satisfaction and loyalty (Trunfio, Petruzzellis and Nigro,
2006). Tour operators- High number of tour operators also meet the effects of demand in terms
of travel and tourism sector. It can be stated that when the number of tour operators is
low then they are not able to promote their product and services to wide range of people.
Less number of tour operator means that there will high demand of holiday packages
which has been provided by TUI group. High number of tour operates will lower down
the demand as people in market will be left with wide variety of options available with
them. Quality- Good and satisfactory quality of holiday packages will help in ratining all the
old customers and attracting the new ones. In addition to this, it will also support in
enhancing the entire degree of demand of TUI group holiday packages in the market.
Now the people in market are made available with wide range of choice related to tour
and holiday packages. The level of competition among all the market players in travel
and tourism industry has become so intense that it is not easy for organizations to
increases their customer base and market share (Donohue, 2007). Therefore, if TUI
group supplies adequate and satisfactory services or packages then the demand will
directly get increased. Range of services- Wide range of services will increase the demand of packages which
are provided by TUI group. The rationale behind this is that the customers will be made
available with wide variety of options and choices (Stone, 2013). This will create
satisfaction among then and will generate more demand. Sustainability- Nowadays the use of sustainable practices among businesses in travel and
tourism industry of UK is increasing day by day. Most of the firms are trying to lower
down the impact of their operations and activities on environment and society. This has
resulted in increasing the supply of services related to travel and tourism by developing a
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sense of satisfaction among all the customers. If TUI group provides people with more
sustainable services then it will be able to create more demand of its services and
packages among customers. the reason behind this is that it will create a sense of
satisfaction among people as they will starts perceiving that the organization is really
taking care of society and environment.
 Seasonality- The supply of services also depends on seasonality as it has been observed
that in summers water sports, ice tracking are some of the activities which are preferred
by tourist. TUI group needs to make sure that if packages are only limited to season but
are in demand for the entire year. If the services are seasonal then the demand will be for
a particular time period only. Rest of the time , the group won’t be able to generate
adequate sales and profitability (Theobald, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated that
effective and unique packages should be introduced by the group in order to maintain the
demand of its holiday packages throughout the entire year.
TASK 4
P4.1 Main positive and negative impact of tourism on economy, environment and society
Tourism sector has emerged as one of the most potential sector of the world. Goa is one
of the major and most famous tourist destination of India. There are various kind of positive and
negative impact which tourism have on economy, environment and society. The impacts are
below mentioned as:
Positive impacts: Direct and indirect income- Tourism in Goa is considered as one of the major and most
important source of generating income. The tourists pays money in term of foreign
exchange which increases the income (Morrison and Mahony, 2003). Further it can be
stated that there are various kind of activities and other tasks which are offered to the
tourist (Chen, and Choi 2008). Against these services money is charged which is
considered as income. Employment- The tourism of Goa also helps in development of society as it provides
direct and indirect employment to various people. The activities such as water sports,
sky diving etc. provides employment to large number of people in Goa. In addition to
this, indirect employment is also provided to people with the help of tourism. For
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example direct employment is for a person which is offering water sports and indirect
employment is fir those which deals with repair and maintenance of the boast and jets
used in water sports. Contribution to gross national product- Gross national product is defined as the value of
products and services which has been provided by a country In one particular year. This
rate of GNP demonstrate high rate of economic growth (Manente, 2000). Increasing
tourist in Goa will increases the sales of services of country which further results in rise
in overall GNP. Generation of foreign exchange- Tourism also helps in economic development by
generating more and more foreign exchange. When tourist visits Goa which is one of
the most popular destination of India, He/she brings foreign exchange in the country
(Pan, 2008). In addition to this, more tourist means more amount of foreign currency
which directly results in economic development of the country. Conservation and enhancement of natural areas- The concept of tourism also leads to
environmental protection as it aims at conservation and enhancement of natural areas. It
is only because of tourism that many of the natural ares and beaches of Goa are
conserved and protected (Barrett, 2012). If tourism was not developed in this place then
these beaches and natural places would have been exploited by humans. Cross culture exchange- Tourism results when people from one country moves to
another country. When people of different nation visit Goa, they bring their culture and
values with them (Donohue, 2007). The local people become aware and get education
regarding cultures and values of other countries which is very beneficial for the
development of society.
Negative impact Pollution and damage to natural resources- Some of the main negative impact which
tourism have on environment is that it leads to pollution and also damages natural
resources. More tourist means more flights which further results in increasing the overall
pollution level.
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 Loss of amenity and increasing crime- Tourism also have its negative impact on society
as it results in destruction of attractiveness of area of local people. Along with this, it also
increasing the crime rate in a country.
 Seasonality- Tourism is season and therefore, all the employment and income which is
generated by the sector is not permanent and is season. Therefore, people remain
employed during off seasons which lower down the entire economic growth of a country.
P4.2 Strategies which can be used to minimize the negative impact and maximize positive once
Strategies for minimizing negative impact are below mentioned as:
 Planning and controlling- Effective planning and controlling will help in lowering down
the negative impacts of tourism (Lashley, 2007). With the help of effective action plan
and adequate control strategies pollution, crime rate and season unemployment can be
overcome easily.
 Visitors and traffic management- This will help in making the entire year as season of
tourist. Further with the help of visitors and traffic management, during off season other
attractive activities can be organized which can increase the tourist (Korstanje and
George, 2012). The traffic management will help in lowering down the level of pollution. Sustainable tourism- Another way to deal with and minimize the negative impact is by
adopting ways of sustainable tourism in which only those activities and task will be
performed which do not have any kind of negative impact on society and environment.
Ways to maximize positive impacts
 Increasing tourism income in public projects- The income and revenue which is received
from tourism can be invested in public projects. This will directly result in development
of economy and society of a country.
 Provision of Jobs to all level- Government and other regulatory bodies can integrate with
each other and can from provision which provides job to local people for all levels. Such
kind of provision will help in increasing the standard of living and income level of people
living in nearby areas of an tourism destination (Future trends in the tourism industry,
2012).
 Staff training, development and education- Another way to maximize the positive impact
of tourism is with the help of staff training and making them educated. Training can be
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provided to them regarding what kind of activities can be useful in lowering down the
negative impact (Morrison and Mahony, 2003). Along with this, providing them with
education will help them to grow and find better opportunities for employment in future.
This will results in social development.
CONCLUSIONS
From the above report, it can be concluded that tourism is very essential for the growth
and success of any country. The structure of travel and tourism industry of UK consist of size
major component which are interrelated and interdependent with each other. It can be also
concluded that government and other regulatory bodies plays very important role in the growth
and success of travel and tourism industry.
RECOMMENDATIONS
 It can be recommended that travel and tourism sector is required to adopt more
sustainable practices.
 It can be also recommended that the sector is required to take corrective measures to
lower down its negative impact on economy and society
 It is also recommended at the time of developing any destination the local cutlure and
resources should not be exploited.
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REFERENCES
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Clarke, A. and Chen, W., 2012. International Hospitality Management. Routledge.
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Hall, J. A. and Clayton, A., 2009. How will climate change impact on the tourism industry?:
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Korstanje, M. and George, B., 2012. Sustainable tourism and global warming: panacea, excuse,
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Lashley, C., 2007. Discovering hospitality: observations from recent research, International
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Manente, M., 2000. Tourism consumption and interregional economic impacts in Italy.
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Future trends in the tourism industry. 2012. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.ttgmena.com/Future-trends-in-the-tourism-industry/>. [Accessed on 22nd
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London's Tourism Industry. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
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