Tourism Management Research and Trends

This assignment delves into contemporary research within the field of tourism management. It examines various topics such as the influence of social media on consumer behavior and decision-making processes, the crucial role of service quality management in hospitality and tourism, and the growing importance of sustainable practices within the sector. The assigned reading list provides a foundation for understanding these key areas.

Hospitality Provision in the
Travel and Tourism
Sector

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Interrelationship between hospitality and wider travel and tourism business..................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Analyse the implications of integration to the hospitality industry..................................3
2.2- Affect of integration on hospitality business..................................................................5
TASK3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Development of rationale for TUI Group clearly justifying decisions linked to target
market.....................................................................................................................................6
3.2 Business Plan for TUI Group...........................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
.......................................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality sector is one of the most crucial service providers for international travel and
tourism industry (Barros, Butler and Correia, 2010). It includes all businesses which
accommodate tourists and travellers while travelling to other destinations. They are an integral
part of the overall experience and must live up to standards which are expected by clientele and
those which are set up by the industry. Modern industries such as TUI Group also set up certain
standards based on the evaluation and personal experience of people. TUI (Touristic Union
International) Group is a multinational travel and tourism enterprise headquartered in Hanover,
Germany being chosen in the report (Dickinson and Lumsdon, 2010). It seems to be the largest
firm in the worldand owns travel agencies, hotels, airlines, cruise ships and retail stores. The
group owns six European airlines and nine tour operators based in Europe. It is listed on the
Frankfurt and London Stock Exchange as a constituent of FTSE100 Index.
The origins of company lie in industrial and transportation enterprise Preussag AG,
which was originally formed as a German Mining Company. It was incorporated on 9th October
1923 as (Prussian Mine and Foundry Company. In 1927, it was merged with the Ruhr Coal
Company, Hibernia AG and electricity utility to become the United Electrical and Mining
Company of United Kingdom. With sale of Salzgitter AG and purchase of navigation and
Logistics Company in 1997, Preussag AG became a global enterprise in service and leisure
industry (Brotherton, 2012). In addition, firm acquired 25% shares of Thomas Cook and in the
mid of 2000, Preussag acquired 50.1% of stake in Thomas Cook. In 2012, company ended its
shipping Business and started optimizing its travelling operations in Russia, China and India.
Major operations of new TUI Group have:-
 Around 67,000 in the world , there are employees that have been build in the world
including newly travel operating countries like Russian, Chinese and Indian staff
members.
 More than 1,800 travel agencies which have been developed from 2012 till 2016 due to
major support of London and Frankfurt Stock Exchange groups.
 There are 6 airlines which are providing various travelling facilities across the world with
130 aircraft that have capacity of around 1, 00,000 customers moving on daily basis.
 300 Hotels and Resorts have been developed across the globe by firm which provide
various hospitality services providing different facilities to business houses like Currency
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Exchange systems, 24 Hour room facility available and courier services across its hotels
which are located around the world.
TASK 1
1.1 Interrelationship between hospitality and wider travel and tourism business
Hospitality organizations are some of the most important service providers to travel and
tourism industry (Hall, Timothy and Duval, 2012). It is either a leisure or business people that
would want to spend a considerable amount of time in their hotel, which is particularly of a
luxury status. There are guests that would understandably would like to reap benefits provided
by their hotels, majorly for premium prices paid. There are various benefits being performed by
hotels for travel and tourism sector:-
 Packaging Holidays: - The role of hospitality in package holidays is very much
significant. Hotels which are included in package holidays ultimately depends on the
prices being paid for chosen packages. If someone opts for a budget package then it is not
possible to get 5 star adjustment, but some hotels provide only 3 or 4 star adaptation. TUI
Group provides mass purchase to a lot of consumers so that they can be benefited from
getting good hotel rates and airline tickets (Heung, Kucukusta and Song, 2010). Hotels
also provide a special offer to company by offering discounts on accommodations and
other services being offered by building for a small of 3 to 4 day packages.
 Aviation: - The industry of airline's success depends on accommodations available . This
is based on situation that industry chooses to provide complete facilities to travellers by
providing them bed and food at proper time whenever required. In some situations and
places if there is no availability of hotel industry being free on particular booking days
then company will suffer huge loss (Hjalager, 2010). This is because of the fact that
many customers chose to book flights and other services on availability of hotels. It is
necessary for hotels to coordinate with TUI Group as they can help in providing various
benefits pertaining to growth and development of business operations of Airline and
Travel Company.
 Business Travel: - People significantly opt for hotels which are equipped with full
facilities pertaining to the needs of customers who want to work comfortably (Hudson
and Thal, 2013). They search for hotels who are providing various business centres, Wi-
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Fi or cable internet access, meeting rooms and different services such as 24 hour laundry
and dry cleaning, food and water facilities and other needs (Law and et. al., 2015). TUI
Group tries to provide different services to business meetings such as Gyms, Spas,
Leisure and outdoor facilities in such a way that entrepreneurs can generate different
benefits and can impress business associates or clients. Emerging destinations such as
India and China are now a days becoming hotspots for business growth and development
in a way that they are providing international companies to open their branches in these
countries. It will provide job opportunities to different employees within these nations
and this will enable them to generate international exposure within company.
 Visitor’s Attraction: - Attraction is the term which is considered as a key element of
tourism industry (Law, Qi and Buhalis, 2010). Due to emergence of many tourist
competitors as tourism consultants, TUI Group tries to adopt various techniques to catch
the attention of public which will help in designing places by generating and developing
creative ideas to develop consumer’s attraction. For company, various attractions in the
UK can provide different types of benefits to customers such as museums and theme
parks or natural attractions such as natural parks and restaurants which are beneficial for
attracting a large number of visitors.
TASK 2
2.1 Analyse the implications of integration to the hospitality industry
Integration first gained popularity in 1900's when business focused on developing
economies of scale through which they were able to generate benefits from lower operating costs
(Medlik, 2012). There are times when companies have their own products and services that are
present in house efforts which will be not required for establishment to source its activities and
thus it will help in generating profits which are required by company in a long run. Through such
integrations, TUI Group helps in increasing the global presence and in developing market share
of enterprise.
 Vertical Integration: - It is a procedure through which a institution buys another
organization in arrangement chain or enters unite consent. Thus, it helps in maximising
the profitability and developing benefits from lower cost operations. It is therefore
characterised by forward, backward and lateral integration. One of the most followed and
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well documented episodes was that of TUI Group. It purchased shares of Hapag- Llyod
AG in 1997 and then it merged with Thomas Cook in 2000 (Mok, Sparks and
Kadampully, 2013). The firm acquired it in 25% shares and in the following year, it got
doubled. Through all this benefits company placed economies of scale which helps them
in focusing on proper training being provided to internal employees rather then external
employees of organization. Barriers will develop according to competition prevailing in
environment. Company may gain control as suppliers will provide accommodation and
transportation services based on limiting competition. If monopolistic behaviour develops
then enterprise must provide certain restrictions because competition is necessary for
improving quality of its services being provided by TUI Group.
 Horizontal Integration:- It refers to a process by which companies expand their
profitability by increasing customer base and developing economies of scale. It occurs
when company purchases or merges with same level enterprise (Murphy, 2013). As it
was done by TUI Hotel and TUI Travel Group, to form a TUI Travel and tourism
company which will help in generating trade among various developing and developed
nations across world. This is done on the major fact that airline industry most often
develop horizontal collaborations with hotel industries so that they can provide various
benefits which are offered by mergers and without providing risk facilities to them. This
is done by collecting data from hotels and scheduling flights which will help them in
providing accommodations. But it is not always possible for TUI Group as hotels are
dynamic in nature and provides complexities on part of generating various benefits
required for developing consumers.
Various Implications that can be implemented by Hospitality industry are based on certain
factors which must be analysed effectively and efficiently for developing effective products and
services and developing consumers loyalty towards company (Pulina, Detotto and Paba, 2010).
A brand name alone may develop certain feelings and emotions related to personal experiences
with brand. But major success of every department is interlinked with branding techniques which
an enterprise chooses to deliver its products and services in marketing environment. This will
enable clients to associate themselves with brand name and vice versa. This is because an
individual will rely on branded products and services as their durability and quality is more in
terms of generating loyalty of customers towards that brand. Thus if a business person checks in
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to hotels and flights of TUI then it will generate various amenities and lavish luxuries as being
provided by any other hotel of same group (Scott, Peeters and Gössling, 2010). This is an
upscale brand which caters for all sorts of clients who are after luxurious accommodation. It has
top class amenities for business people, and all the luxuries that couples would expect for that
romantic getaway. It also happens to be the most family oriented brand within the TUI group,
offering facilities where children can play under constant supervision. This is based on certain
facts that all factors needed to develop products and services must integrate with its brand name.
2.2- Affect of integration on hospitality business.
As there are basically two types of integration in context of hospitality sector. First is the
vertical and second is the horizontal integration (Scott and Orlikowski, 2012). This can be
considered as a basic element through which a company can maximize their global presence and
this will result in the increment of market shares. Vertical integration can be defined as a stage
where a company buys a different company in the process of distribution chain. TUI group has
successfully implemented this concept of integration so as to achieve more stable position in the
market. Horizontal integration on the other side can be defined as totally a different concept
where the cited company actually focuses to increase and expand their customer base. This can
also be considered as a part of maximizing economies of scale. But the major concept of this
integration is to increase the profitability. This concept is not at all new in the field of business.
Generally, companies opt for this just to lower down their operating cost. If operating cost can be
reduced, this will definitely help the company to effectively utilise their resources and achieve
their target in the most effective manner. Given below are the basic affect of vertical integration
on the mentioned hospitality business.
1- Lowers operating cost- for any organisation, it is very important to cut down the
operating cost. This is because if operating cost can be reduced this will automatically result in
the increment of company's performance (Sigala, Christou and Gretzel, 2012). There can be
many strategies used by the cited company in order to reduced their operating cost. These
techniques can be review purchase procedure, review suppliers, analysing expenses , engage
outside help and many more.
2- Maximize profit- As a result of cutting down the operating cost, one of the very
important advantage this can be the increment in profit level . This is because if management of
cited company is able to reduce their basic expenses then this will foster their rate of profit and if
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a company is able to make profit that means they have attained sustainable position in the
market. So in short, cited company need to focus in the fact of earning more profit day by day by
reducing all unnecessary expenses.
Now comes the horizontal integration, this can also affect the sector of hospitality. Some
of the major affects are given below:
1- Expand customer base- This concept holds the very major idea of any company
(Smith and Puczkó, 2014). In context of above mentioned organisation, it is important to focus
on expanding the customer base. This is simply increasing the number of customer. In other
words, this can be considered as capturing more number of market shares.
2- Advantages from economies of scale- This is again a very important factor under the
affect of horizontal integration on the hospitality sector. This will foster the economy by the
means of improving economies of scale. This will result in the maximization of individual's
purchasing power as well.
TASK3
3.1 Development of rationale for TUI Group clearly justifying decisions linked to target market
According to situations company operating in United Kingdom has been developing benefits
according to needs and wants as per requirements of customers. This is because in enterprise of
tourism sector different products and services are necessary for attracting consumers . These
products are flight experience, hotel and its facilities and other services. In this process flight
staff will provide different services such that all passengers who will travel will develop suitable
advantages by being benefited among those services which are catered to them.
Along with it various hotel services like food , bed and ambiance must be developed
according to requirements of customers (Teng, 2011). It is based on factor that all employees of
TUI Group hotels must provide proper services to them in the way that they get overwhelmed
and are attracted towards its features. This will help them in developing various systems of
consumer services. This is a main process as it needs to be developed according to feedback
being generated by analysing all customers on regular basis. This will enable them to attract
large consumer base.
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3.2 Business Plan for TUI Group
A business plan is a plan of action which includes all necessary steps a company has to
adopt in order to provide operational requirements necessary for developing products and
services catered at developing goals and objectives of business enterprise (Vanhove, 2011).
These include:-
 Design :- It is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object,
system or measurable human interaction (as in architectural blueprints,engineering
drawings, business processes, circuit diagrams, and sewing patterns).Design has different
connotations in different fields (see design disciplines below). In some cases, the direct
construction of an object (as in pottery,engineering,management, coding, and graphic
design) is also considered to use design thinking. There are various designing disciplines
that must be analysed while developing products and services beneficial for consumers.
These include:-
 Ambiance:- It may be defined as a place where products and services are being based on
its characteristics and atmosphere (Zeng and Gerritsen, 2014). For TUI Group it is an
important element which should be developed in order to provide effective and efficient
ambiance to all its hotels and travelling places such that consumers are attracted by its
view. It will be an advantage for company to develop different environmental factors
which will help in generating various benefits of flights, hotels, and other places where
visitors are travelling.
 Culture:- Culture is the social behaviour and norms found in human societies. Culture is a
central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are
transmitted through social learning in human societies. It helps TUI Group to develop
different types of programmes and policies which will help in generating different norms
and ethics beneficial for generating economies of scale and scope along with different
aspects of behaviour prevailing in a society (Barros, Butler and Correia, 2010). It is
because of fact that company chooses to develop products and services based on cultural
norms and social standards prevailing in an organization.
 Functional Areas:- Various areas such as marketing, finance, Human resources and
accounting needs to be analysed so that all products and services which needs to be
developed must be ;provided to them according to various marketing factors prevailing in
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environment. Thus it will help TUI Group in generating various financial aspects which
will be beneficial for generating different projects beneficial for growth and development
of business enterprise in long run.
 Operations:- It refers to a process by which all activities and all departments work
together in order to develop certain factors beneficial for providing effective and efficient
growth and development of business operations in various aspects like Hotels, flights,
taxis and other services.
 Legislations:- It means all laws and policies which are beneficial for providing effective
and efficient products and services beneficial for generation of quality results
(Brotherton, 2012). Thus in this company all legal operations must be evaluated in order
to provide effective goods and services to all type of consumers which are useful for
generating economies of scale and scope.
 Promotional Activities :- It includes various activities such as advertising, sales
promotion, personal selling, direct marketing which will be beneficial for generating all
customers required for growth and development of business activities beneficial for TUI
group. As it is an essential process which will be able to use different methods such that
different products and services will be needed at all stages to attract consumers.
CONCLUSION
According to the whole discussion which is mentioned above it is clearly get identified
that many organisations will lead to work in hospitality industry. Hospitality industry is a wider
term which is already evaluated in this assignment and its scope and scale is also high. Also the
relation of this industry is linked with travel and tourism sector. Hotels have to provide quality
services to their users through which number of tourist get rises in travel sector. Also, integration
process plays an effective role in this context. Companies can merge their organisation and work
together for providing quality services to their clients. This lead to maximise their profitability of
business through which more and more opportunities can be drawn out. Integration sometimes
play a positive role but few of the times it become negative. For this context, management have
to use various appropriate systems.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barros, C.P., Butler, R. and Correia, A., 2010. The length of stay of golf tourism: A survival
analysis. Tourism Management. 31(1). pp.13-21.
Brotherton, B. ed., 2012. International Hospitality Industry. Routledge.
Dickinson, J.E. and Lumsdon, L., 2010. Slow travel and tourism. Earthscan.
Hall, C.M., Timothy, D.J. and Duval, D.T., 2012. Safety and security in tourism: relationships,
management, and marketing. Routledge.
Heung, V.C., Kucukusta, D. and Song, H., 2010. A conceptual model of medical tourism:
Implications for future research. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 27(3). pp.236-
251.
Hjalager, A.M., 2010. A review of innovation research in tourism. Tourism management. 31(1).
pp.1-12.
Hudson, S. and Thal, K., 2013. The impact of social media on the consumer decision process:
Implications for tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 30(1-2).
pp.156-160.
Law, R., and et. al., 2015. Distribution channel in hospitality and tourism: Revisiting
disintermediation from the perspectives of hotels and travel agencies. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 27(3). pp.431-452.
Law, R., Qi, S. and Buhalis, D., 2010. Progress in tourism management: A review of website
evaluation in tourism research. Tourism management. 31(3). pp.297-313.
Medlik, S., 2012. Dictionary of travel, tourism and hospitality. Routledge.
Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J., 2013. Service quality management in hospitality,
tourism, and leisure. Routledge.
Murphy, P.E., 2013. Tourism: A community approach (RLE Tourism). Routledge.
Pulina, M., Detotto, C. and Paba, A., 2010. An investigation into the relationship between size
and efficiency of the Italian hospitality sector: A window DEA approach. European
Journal of Operational Research. 204(3). pp.613-620.
Scott, D., Peeters, P. and Gössling, S., 2010. Can tourism deliver its “aspirational” greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets? Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 18(3). pp.393-408.
Scott, S.V. and Orlikowski, W.J., 2012. Reconfiguring relations of accountability:
Materialization of social media in the travel sector. Accounting, organizations and
society. 37(1). pp.26-40.
Sigala, M., Christou, E. and Gretzel, U. eds., 2012. Social media in travel, tourism and
hospitality: Theory, practice and cases. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
Smith, M. and Puczkó, L., 2014. Health, tourism and hospitality: Spas, wellness and medical
travel. Routledge.
Teng, C.C., 2011. Commercial hospitality in restaurants and tourist accommodation:
Perspectives from international consumer experience in Scotland. International Journal
of Hospitality Management. 30(4). pp.866-874.
Vanhove, N., 2011. The economics of tourism destinations. Routledge.
Zeng, B. and Gerritsen, R., 2014. What do we know about social media in tourism? A review.
Tourism Management Perspectives. 10. pp.27-36.
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