Characteristics and Challenges in the Tourism Industry

This document discusses the characteristics and challenges faced by the tourism industry. It explores the inventory, inconsistency, intangibility, inflexibility, and people-oriented nature of the industry. It also delves into the challenges of taxation, travel marketing, globalization, and security. The document provides valuable insights into the fascinating world of tourism.

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Leadership and management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART-A...........................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Characteristic of tourism industry................................................................................................3
Challenges in tourism industry....................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
PART-B...........................................................................................................................................6
Reflective statements...................................................................................................................6
PART-C.........................................................................................................................................11
Areas of development................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
Books and Journals....................................................................................................................13

l壱
l壱PART-A
l壱INTRODUCTION
Hospitality and tourism is a combined massive industry which includes businesses related
to tourism and hospitality. Most of the tourism companies are considered to come under
hospitality businesses as they depend on customer’s services to create their strong revenue.
Companies associated with tourism and hospitality industry must offer a welcoming and
enjoyable experience (Camilleri, 2018) to their customers or else they might lose their customers
and even the potential customers . Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in today’s
world. It is an economic and social phenomenon which has its own pros and cons. There are
many challenges which this industry has to face but having career in tourism can be adventurous
in entertaining for one’s life. Working in this profession allows an individual to see and
experience cultures od different places and countries.
l壱MAIN BODY
l弐Characteristic of tourism industry
Tourism and hospitality are the segments in the tourism industry such as transportation,
hotels, resorts and many more help in promoting products and services of certain businesses.
There are many characteristics related to this industry which makes it very exciting and
important task for the companies to plan their marketing strategies. These characteristics make
tourism industry special than producing and trading industries. These are
Inventory: Also known as perishable. It is one of the most interesting characteristic of
tourism sector (Tan and et.al., 2017). Products and services are consumed just after they are
produced for example hotel room and cable cars are impossible to store in some warehouse and
use during some future sales. When a room in a hotel is not booked for the night then it cannot
be taken to sell the next day. Just like this, if a train not fully accommodated leave a station
cannot sell the unused accommodation on some other day. Keeping in mind this uncertainty
phenomenon in the customer’s demand, most of the travel agency and hospitality industry
overbooks their rooms and or seats. Having a alternative option to offer their customers and
living with the consequences of overbooking this industry becomes statically more economical

(Ladkin, and Kichuk, 2017). Similarly in an airline, if the company is not being able to book all
their seats on the flight cannot sell the unattended seats in sale for some other day. This sector is
not made to store inventory like products. Many travel agencies have found different strategies
to overcome this issue. First strategy is overbooking and other is multiple distributions.
Inconsistency: Products offered by the tourism industry are always different. Even in the
same hotel in the same season can be recognized in a different way maybe depending on the
mood of the chef. Tourism and hospitality industry are always about the customer’s side of
experience. Many factors such as price and some additional services can only be looked at the
lower level. It can be challenging to deal and support with the customer’s needs and
requirements for a certain product. This is highly affected by wide range of not so influencing
aspects such as construction sites, weather and many more like this. Therefore, products from
this industry are very inconsistent and cannot be set to some standardisation. Product or package
can be seemed to be standardised but the actual experience is highly consistent.
Intangibility: Going through the pictures will never be same as experiencing the wind
on top of some mountain blowing by one’s hair, feeling the sun’s heat piercing through the body
when sunbathing at some beach or hearing the sound of a motor boat. Pictures cannot produce
the live feelings. These are some reason why words from the mouth are an effective means for
promoting the destinations and other services (Kaur, 2017). Tourism is all about time spent and
experience gained. Products offered by tourism sector once cannot be reproduced or reused
again for some other time neither can the feeling of utilization be consumed again. Tourism is a
subjective photograph which s implanted into customers state of mind.
Inflexibility: This industry is highly inflexible when compared to capacity. Take for
example the seats in a flight or rooms in a hotel are fixed and there is no chance to fulfil some
sudden rise in demand. When the demand is less, some of flights might go empty or some hotels
go less accommodated. Products from travel sector are very inflexible in terms of fluctuations.
Companies associated with this industry are always trying to balance their products between
these high and low demands.
People oriented: Tourism and hospitality industry completely depends on other people.
The interface between employee and customer is what defines the quality offered by the
company (Yazici and Ayazlar, 2021). Tangible products are where customers buy the feature,
quality and durability products, unlike this, quality of the vacation is a result of personal

interactions which starts from receiving information and includes the whole booking process and
the complete stay along with the journey.
l弐Challenges in tourism industry
As exciting as it is to work in profession of tourism, it comes in handy with many
challenges and problems. Travel and tourism is a good example of being a volatile industry. This
industry is not resistant from political, social and economical changes. Many factors form these
changes are not in control of the tourism organisations and their board (Fatima, and Elbanna,
2020). Moreover, being aware of these challenging conditions can make the company more
proactive to be attacked from such factors. Some of the main challenges and issues related to
tourism and hospitality industry are:
Taxation: Government puts up heavy taxes on the services related to tourism. Looking
at the taxes paid on hotels and flight tickets can form the basic idea of bearing through more tax.
This factor affects the tourism industry in a negative way. Offering competitive prices to the
customers for company’s products and other services becomes an important step to make the
business survive in the market. Government must understand the value that tourists adds to the
local and global economy when they make a purchase or expends on the substances related with
tourism. It can be said that tourism sector is a highly taxed industry in some of the many
countries. In addition to heavy taxes, there is another problem because of changing the tax rates
around different countries. These issues from the taxation reach to the customers following any
way and lastly, impacting the industry.
Travel marketing: Many tourist or customer can judge and argue on the travelling
marketing being falsely advertised. They can even say that it was exaggerated and inadequate.
This problem can be solved by teaming up with some great marketing businesses which will help
in changing the company’s perception (Horng, Hsu, and Tsai, 2018). They work with some
innovative marketing strategies which will help the company attract more tourists. Marketing
department of any tourism related company must use their full creativity and technology to
avoid having these issues. Along with this, they must also focus on local content into the
customer’s travel plan.
Globalization: This factor has created small number of distinctive environment.
Globalisation leads to finding non differentiable products in each and every country. Today’s era

most of the travellers are looking for exploring the unique elements and not fulfilling this need
becomes a major challenge for people working in tourism sector. One example proving this issue
is the availability of working shopping malls in most of the cities, which provide matching
products. Hotels and resorts are also being so standardised that the person staying there might
not receive the special feeling of staying in that particular city or country for that matter (Bafna
and Saini, 2021). Localisation is very important and companies must know their ways of
connecting to traveller coming from countries. They must create a website which can be
accessible and translation for any person from any corner of the world.
Security: This is the major challenges faced by the tourism industry and many have
failed to face up to security issues. Majority of the companies and even the visitors lack their
connections with the law enforcement departments (Aicher, Buning, and Newland, 2020). Many
police departments are also deficient in officers which can look up to tourism related policies
and other protection services. It is therefore very important for the tourism companies to develop
a better security in infrastructure for their customers and travellers.
l壱CONCLUSION
Tourism and hospitality industry seems very fascinating for people from the outside
world of it. Working in tourism sector requires to move forward by adapting into many
characteristics. These characteristics define the ups and downs of the whole tourism industry.
Any professional working in this industry will have to become accustomed with all these
characteristics. The industry has to face many challenges as it works on global basis. Despite of
these challenges, tourism industry can grow and help in creating more job opportunities and thus
helping the community.
l壱PART-B
l弐Reflective statements
ToolkitsStrengthWeaknessRokeach Value surveyI being in the tourism sector job, have an
exciting life, having a world tour, roaming around in different countries and cities. It is like a
dream job to me and is very exciting how I can see different cultures and experience the life
style of people from different places.

True friendship is a very important part of tourism. Meeting different types of people and being
good to them and most importantly staying in contact with them. Making contacts and having a
friend from different places is helpful for me as they can help me during any consequences and
staying in contact helps me to keep myself updated.
I would give a one star to Freedom for my experience in tourism industry. Because it feels like I
am not able to do what I have to do. Whatever the customer demand, I have to do it and there is
no going back. I don’t have a choice other than that. This sometimes feels my freedom is being
violated. Belbin’s team rolesI would give Teamwork as my strength because my teammates are
very co-operative and also listens to everything we say to each other and they never says no to
any work. If they are given a work they would first complete it then only they would take a new
work. And it is a very positive thing for me that I have got such supportive teamwork and thus
keeps me positive towards my life.
One of my strengths includes me being a specialist towards my tourism industry. Because I am
very dedicated towards my work and I also have knowledge and skills that really helps me to
succeed in my career. I am a very single-minded person and have one goal in my life which I am
determined to achieve. I will stick to my goal and would give my complete efforts achieving it. I
am that kind of person who undertakes a project on my own initiative and I like that about me.
Resource investigator can be my strength as I am very enthusiast about my profession. I am very
friendly and socially confident which makes me an outgoing person. I look to discover any new
opportunities and keep moving forward by developing contacts. I like to work on different ideas
and share it with my team to make customers satisfied. In my tourism experience being a

coordinator plays a very important role on how to coordinate with things and all the travel
itineraries. Working in a organised and coordinated way is not my strong suit.
I am bad at handling the sudden changes, in other words I am a bit inflexible. I can be rigid and
my profession requires to not be like one so there are some problems.
I can be a bit slow in responding to any new possibilities. The industry I work in requires
adapting to new things and earning new experiences. So this quality of mine makes me a bad
implementer.
Not being a creative person is my weakness. I can be absent minded sometimes which can lead
to ignoring incidentals. I am preoccupied into communicating effectively.
I am not a completer finisher as I might be more inclined towards worrying to an unwarranted
degree and become reluctant to take the responsibility. Honey Mumford’s learning stylesI am a
theorist. I favour the vertical logic. People say that I am rational and objective. I ask questions
while conducting a survey and prefer to follow a disciplinary approach.
I am a very keen person to try out different things. I work in a very simple and down to earth
way. I believe in being more realistic and following a practical approach. I do not waste any
time and gets to the main point. My technique oriented behaviour makes me a good pragmatist.
I am a very people oriented person because of my profession. I can communicate to people
without any hesitation and have great set of people skills. I will be present at last position into

being an activist as I tend to act without having any careful considering about thing which may
affect my profession in tourism. I take some unnecessary risks and do not wish to come under
any spotlight. I cannot handle the implementation process on my own.
Not being a reflector to other is another weakness because firstly, I avoid any form of direct
participation. I take a lot of time to come to a particular decision or into giving any opinion.
Emotional IntelligenceMy greatest strength is my self management. I can control my impulsive
feelings and behaviour in front of people. I can manage my emotion in a way which a healthy
for me and have no effects on others. I can stay up to the commitments I made and can keep my
calm in any circumstance.
I can identify my own emotions and thought process while having a self confidence. This makes
me self aware person.
As being working in a tourism industry my greatest strength is to a socially aware. I have
empathy and have the power to understand the emotions, needs and requirements of other
people. I can recognise the working dynamics of a group of people easily. I can be bad in
influencing other people and making them inspire to do things differently. 16 Personality testsI
have a strong sense of duty. I am responsible in ways to meet the needs of the customers and
allowing them to have the best experience of their life.
As said before, I am very committed and loyal towards my profession ad my customers. I value
the stability and security tourist and travellers. I am very truth worthy person and anyone can
rely on me for their requirements.

I am good at connecting with others. I am very comfortable in talking to people from any part of
the world. I have no problem with talks or working on some social project. I am an individual
who is reluctant to innovate or improvise on something personally. I am not ready to step out of
my comfort zone while my profession ask me to do the opposite. I have this fear of being
different than others. Big five personality testConscientiousness is my strength. I am self
disciplined and a goal driven person. I work very hard to achieve success in my life. I am a very
thoughtful person.
I am an extroversion person. I am assertive and very outgoing individual. People find my
behaviour warm. I crave for adventures which keep me interested in my profession.
I am a very agreeableness person as I am very trust worthy. I have a good and helping nature.
People can have their complete trust on me. Not being open is my weakness as I like to be
practical about the ways thing should be done. I follow the same conventional method and like
to in a certain routine.
I can become a neurotic sometime when some things make me anxious. I get unhappy because of
mood swings and therefore, am prone to negative emotions.
Every individual has some strengths and weakness build up in their personality and
behaviour. I will evaluate my strength and weakness into reflecting on my behaviour. My skills
and attributes will help my find any threats related to my working style and will also help me
find the opportunities associated with it. One of threat on my personality is that I convince
myself into believing that I cannot do anything special. My studies are gone to a waste and the
market is looking for young and educated people like me, which forming a high level of
competition within the workplace. My opportunities include involving with many different
teams and building up relations. AT my current position in my employment has more room for

expanding my responsibilities and developing some other skills set to gain competitive
advantage. My career has a treat from the technological point of view and there is lack of some
interpersonal skills. There are many career enhancing opportunities in my profession and I must
be capable of taking advantage from other departments.
l壱PART-C
l弐Areas of development
For the development of personal strengths and weaknesses and over coming personal
weaknesses an individual needs to engage in the activities which will improve its ability for self
development. This allows the students to develop their skills for the academic standards. The
areas of development are,
Developing understanding :
It is very important for the students to understand what know and what they can do. They
need to grow their abstract knowledge and ideas actively, hands on manner, and should develop
the make sense of what they learn in the classes and lectures. This can be done by providing
right coaching to the students and to encourage them for exploring the practical world. The
students need to develop the curiosity for learning and understanding what is being taught to
them. The development of understanding will help me to improve my behaviour which will help
in influencing others.
Surpassing Fixed Standards :
For the further development of the students they should understand the that their level of
thinking or learning is not fixed or limited to a certain standard. Thing outside the limited
knowledge develops the students. This extra bit of knowledge brings mastery to that particular
concept. These informations may not be crucial for their academic results, but they will be a
good way of development (Shah and et.al., 2018).
Personal Growth :
For the development of the individual it is very Important for the students to develop
important habits for the personal growth of them. The habits which develop the personal growth
of the students are, inquiring, collaborating, self-confidence and caring. These habits help in
development of the character of the students which ultimately benefits their academic
performance. Apart from the development of the knowledge and information of the students it is

also very important for them to become a good citizen. This quality is developed as they develop
their personal traits (Bostwick and et.al., 2017). The main factor which will be helpful for my
growth will be taking risks which will provide me opportunities to take my chances in the new
and more uncomfortable sections of the development. Stepping out of the comfort zone will
always be a influential way of achieving personal growth.
Computers & Technology :
Learning the utilization of computers Is very important nowadays specially for the
students. Computers in the today's generation is used for so many activities. All the operational
activities are done on the computer. This is the reason why the students are taught in the use of
computers in their schools and colleges. The knowledge of computer and its technology should
be leaned as much as possible for the student. This is because its is an area for the development.
Co-ordinating :
I need to improve my skills of coordinating because I am very much dependent over my
co-ordinator. The improvement of these skills will provide me opportunities of leading the
organization and also to create improve relationship with different work related individuals.

l壱REFERENCES
l弐Books and Journals
Aicher, T.J., Buning, R.J. and Newland, B.L., 2020. Running through travel career progression:
social worlds and active sport tourism. Journal of Sport Management, 34(6), pp.542-553.
Bafna, P.B. and Saini, J.R., 2021. Identification of Significant Challenges Faced by the Tourism
and Hospitality Industries Using Association Rules. In Data Management, Analytics and
Innovation (pp. 121-129). Springer, Singapore.
Bostwick, K.C., and et.al., 2017. Students’ growth mindsets, goals, and academic outcomes in
mathematics. Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
Camilleri, M.A., 2018. The tourism industry: An overview. Travel marketing, tourism
economics and the airline product, pp.3-27.
Fatima, T. and Elbanna, S., 2020. Balanced scorecard in the hospitality and tourism industry:
Past, present and future. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, p.102656.
Horng, J.S., Hsu, H. and Tsai, C.Y., 2018. An assessment model of corporate social
responsibility practice in the tourism industry. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(7), pp.1085-
1104.
Kaur, G., 2017. The importance of digital marketing in the tourism industry. International
Journal of Research-Granthaalayah, 5(6), pp.72-77.
Ladkin, A. and Kichuk, A., 2017. Career progression in hospitality and tourism settings.
Shah, P.E., and et.al., 2018. Early childhood curiosity and kindergarten reading and math
academic achievement. Pediatric research, 84(3), pp.380-386.
Tan, and et.al., 2017. Mobile applications in tourism: the future of the tourism
industry?. Industrial Management & Data Systems.
Yazici, S. and Ayazlar, R.A., 2021. Generation Z and Tourism Entrepreneurship: Generation Z’s
Career Path in the Tourism Industry. In Generation Z Marketing and Management in Tourism
and Hospitality (pp. 53-99). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.