Legislation and Ethics in the UK Travel and Tourism Sector

Scenario Based written Report 1
SCENARIO BASED WRITTEN REPORT
Name
Course
Professor
University
City/state
Date

Scenario Based written Report 2
Scenario Based Written Report
1. Introduction
This report presents a discussion on several aspects of legislation and ethics in the travel and
tourism sector in the UK. The main areas of discussion are regulatory and legal framework of the
UK travel and tourism industry; impacts of health, safety and security legislation; equality
legislation related to employment; features of various contract laws in the travel and tourism;
consumer protection legislation; exams of ethical dilemmas; and corporate social responsibility
of companies in the UK travel and tourism sector. The report is divided into four main tasks.
2. Task A
2.1. Task 1(A): Legal and regulatory framework
Travel and tourism is a major contributor to the UK gross domestic product (GDP). In 2017,
the sector accounted for 10.5% of the UK GDP (Knoema Corporation, 2018). The sector is
expected to grow gradually and surpass £257 billion by 2025 (VisitBritain, 2018). Legal and
regulatory framework plays a very important role in the performance of the UK travel and
tourism industry because of many stakeholders involved in the industry. There are several laws
and policies formulated by the UK government to regulate and promote the travel and tourism
industry. These regulations are also meant to specify and protect the responsibilities and rights of
all parties in the travel and tourism sector. Some of the laws used include:
Tourism Act 1969 – deals with coordination of travel and tourism organizations in the UK.
Development of Tourism Act 1969 – deals with synchronization of various organizations that are
involved in the UK travel and tourism industry.

Scenario Based written Report 3
Transport Act 1980/1985 – deals with licensing, control and regulation of transport routes used
by buses owned by private and public transport companies.
Package Travel & Tour Regulations Act 1992 – deals with control of services offered by tour
operators.
The above laws are also affected by several regulators, including the following:
Association of the British Travel Agents (ABTA) – this is the main regulator of the UK travel
and tourism sector. The association ensures that issuance of permits and travel bookings are done
in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. It also ensures that the products and services
offered meet the required minimum standards (Downes & Paton, 2010).
Health and Safety Commission (HSC) – deals with laws and regulations related to safety.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – deals with regulation, encouragement and implementation
of workplace health, safety and welfare.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) – deals with establishing standards and policies
for air transport in the travel and tourism sector.
Air Travel Operators Licensing (ATOL) – deals with licenses maintenance and providing
support to service providers in the travel and tourism sector.
Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) – deals with management of laws and services specified in the
Transport Act 2000.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – deals with laws and regulations related to usage and safety of
airspace.

Scenario Based written Report 4
There are also to main classes of law in the travel and tourism sector: criminal law and
civil law. Criminal law regulate wrongs, frauds or crimes committed against the government
(The Margarian Law Firm, 2018) (such as murder, burglary, fraud, assault, drug dealing and
money laundering) while civil laws regulate conflicts/disputes between private parties (such as
employment discrimination, personal injury, breach of contract, or family disputes). Therefore
criminal law focuses on protecting the duties and rights of operators and tourists, whereas civil
law regulates the contracts between different parties in the travel and tourism sector. There is
also well-established court system where parties can seek justice if any party violates the law.
2.2. Task 1(B): Role of respective regulatory bodies in the travel and tourism sector
There are several bodies and laws used to regulate the surface, sea and air transport sectors in the
travel and tourism sector in the UK. Some of these regulatory bodies in include the following:
Surface transport: this sector is regulated by the Association of British Travel Agents, Air
and Road Act 1979, International Carriage of Passenger by Road Act 1979 and Carriage by
Railway Act 1972. The main obligation of these laws is to protect the rights of passengers and
their goods against physical damages, loss and mental disorders. The laws also protect interests
of persons living with disabilities.
Sea transport: the key laws regulating this sector are the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, The Athens Convention 1974, Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, and
Territorial Sea act 1987. The law protects the safety, security and rights of passengers using
ships, boats, yachts, cruises and ferries moving in water. These laws are managed by the
international carriage department.