The Impact of Leadership Competences on Travel Industry Reviews and Apple Travel Agencies to Improve Business Sustainability

INTERNATIONAL
EXECUTIVE
MBA
The impact of leadership competencies on travel industries
reviews and Apple Travel Agencies to improve business
sustainability Post Covid 19, Malaysia
JULY 2021
GROUP NAME: THE A TEAM
NAME OF STUDENTS:
COACH:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITTLE PAGE
1. Introduction 1-2
2. Travel Industries Literature Review Around The Globe 2-3
3. Impact of Leadership Competency Development 4
3.1 Malaysia Travel Industries Background 4
3.2 Apple Vacation Travel Agencies Sdn Bhd Action / Counter 5-6
Measure taken by the company
4. Impact of Leadership Competency Development 7
4.1 Apple Vacation Competency Framework 7-8
4.2 Strategic Dimension 9
4.3 Interpersonal Dimension 9
4.4 Organization Alignment Dimension 10
5. Leadership Development 10
5.1 Targeted Leadership Development & Result Orientation 10
5.2 Experience & Learning 11
5.3 Effective Leadership Development & Scientific Talent Management 11-12
6. Conclusions 12
7. References 13-15

1.0 Introduction
Apple Vacation Sdn Bhd was founded on 11 July 1991 in Malaysia with the head office
in the heart of Kuala Lumpur has more than 52 agents in Malaysia and three (3) main
branches in Singapore, Japan and Taiwan as an inbound and outbound and local travel
agency. The company's success can be attributed to the burning passion of two founders:
Dato Sri Lee Ee Hoe (Lee San), Group Chairman, and Dato Sri Koh Yock Heng (Koh
San) Group Managing Director. This spirited pair drives the company with their keen
prospect and expertise in catering to the market needs and demands. Through their will
power, they have established a unique culture steeped in Japanese philosophy “Kaizen”,
meaning continuous improvement with self-discipline, adapting to constant change and
not holding on to the past. The company lives up to the motto "It's a journey, not a
destination" and prides itself on having a strong foundation and a proven track record of
weathering tough times. The company name changes from Apple Vacations &
Convention on 4 October 2019 to Apple Vacation Sdn Bhd approved by the Registrar of
Companies, Malaysia.
The current COVID-19, has caused incredible tragedy and a big impact in travel
industries. The number of people suffering from illness, death of loved ones,
unemployment, economic impact, health and poverty is overwhelming. Together, we
share our heartfelt sympathy for those who bear these burdens and our sincere
appreciation for those who support them on the front lines. On a broader level, COVID-
19 has dramatically changed the way we live. Our social interactions, our professional
dynamics and our digital relationships have all changed.
The Travel & Tourism sector has certainly not been immune to that transition. Indeed, the
Travel & Tourism sector has already been tremendously impacted. Seemingly overnight,
hundreds of countries suspended flights or halted international travel. Even domestically,
national and sub-national jurisdictions instituted shelter-in place orders. Many companies
were forced to close temporarily, which unfortunately often led to permanent closures.
Those that remained open had only limited operations This all transpired such that at the
peak of the crisis, a shocking one million Travel & Tourism jobs were lost daily.
A strong leadership organization in challenging times like the current COVID-19 crisis as
employees need someone to look up to and lead them through the difficult times. Despite
this, there is a tendency for the leaders in the travel industries to focus purely on external
communication to attract customers to sustain their business, neglecting the internal
communication which is just as important. As employees in the travel organizations are
usually the front liners, clear and transparent communication is needed to deaden their
worries. Leaders in the travel industries should use this quiet period to assess their
business, plan for new guest scenarios when operations resume, and intensive training to
their employees to take the edge off customers' post COVID-19 concerns.
This assignment aims to study a leadership competency framework that can be used to
innovate the travel industries in Malaysia post COVID-19 in order to make the industries
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sustainable in a dramatically changed world. The case study travel organization used in
this assignment is (name of our own company), hereafter referred to Apple Vacation
Travel Agency as outline sketch. It is one of the few established and innovative travels
and tours companies in Malaysia.
Yet, we have also witnessed inspiring commitment and strength among our fellow Travel
& Tourism leaders. Companies donate food, support repatriation and open their doors to
the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, frontline workers and people who are sick or
quarantined due to COVID-19.
Travel & Tourism workers are undergoing training to provide medical care, sewing
masks for the community, and taking pain-staking precautions to keep travellers safe.
2.0 Travel Industries Literature Review Around the Globe
This chapter focuses on the review of the literature on the leader competency
development over the last 10 years in the travel industries researching on the various
leadership competency frameworks developed or implemented by organizations and the
leadership styles of some of the most successful leaders in the travel industries. The
COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented disruption in the travel industries.
Malaysia Tourism is the third largest contributor to Malaysia's GDP. In 2018, the tourism
sector contributed around 5.9% to the total GDP. In recent years, the tourism industry in
Southeast Asia has seen significant growth and the country is keen to capitalise on this
trend. The Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020 campaign has been launched in the hope of
achieving the ambitious targets of 30 million visitors and 100 billion Malaysian ringgit in
tourism revenue by 2020.
However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of this campaign and
"Tourist arrivals to Malaysia fell by 83.4% in 2020 with Malaysia’s tourist receipts also
plunging by
85.3% from RM86.14 billion in 2019 to RM12.69 billion last year. Most tourists, 4.23
million in 2020, arrived before the border closure on 18 March.
Malaysia has experienced negative annual growth in visitor numbers since 2017, which
has been accompanied by stagnant tourism revenues between 2016 and 2018.
This was mainly due to a decline in the number of visitors from Singapore, which
remained Malaysia's top tourist market.
Nevertheless, Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur was among the top ten most popular
destinations for overnight visitors worldwide in 2018, and spending by international
visitors to Kuala Lumpur also reached its highest level in nine years this year.
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