Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally

This paper discusses the issues impacting the travel and tourism industry globally, including safety and security, technology, and climatic conditions. It provides examples and evidence of how these issues are affecting the industry and suggests solutions to resolve them. The paper emphasizes the need for immediate planning and implementation of solutions to resolve these issues for the industry, the general public, and the environment.

Running Head: Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism
Globally

Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Safety and Security..........................................................................................................................3
Technology......................................................................................................................................4
Climatic Conditions.........................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
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Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
Introduction
The objective of this paper is to highlight the issues which are impacting the travel and tourism
industry However, the industry has seen a number of changes due to a variety of issues. The
issues pertaining are technology, and technological advancements, it has also been noted that
there is an increased criminal activity against the tourists and terrorism, the economic conditions
also impact the tourism of a country such as the value of currency, exchange rates. However,
availability of transportation, communication and changes in weather conditions are some other
issues being studied from the review.
Safety and Security
Security is a tool for the individual’s safety in the given environment against any human or non-
human threat. In the current scenario the level of tourism is increasing globally, with the high
stress and long working hours, every individual looks for travelling at far off places away from
daily hassles. However, with the increase in tourism the safety and security of the tourist are also
increasing, which is becoming an issue and vital point of discussion among the local government
along with the complete industry. For example, the 9/11 attack is still in the memory of the
people, after which the level of security has been made more secure and tight internationally.
The different countries practice different frisking procedures according to their need and culture
(Giap, Gopalan, & Ye, 2016).
According to a report after the Hurghada attack, the tourist travelling to Egypt has reduced by
around 37.8%. After which the country has started promoting the tourism along with the
measures they are now using to safeguard the tourist and people residing in the country (Marwa,
2016.) According to the Guardian, After the attacks in London and Manchester, the UK is
attracting less tourists. However, apart from the fact that there is still a terror of attacks, the
countries globally are planning and fighting against it, and flourishing again with tourists. The
local and the state government are making plans and implementing them in order to attract
tourism back to the city, the review puts forward that 53 Students from Germany travelled to
London post attack, out of them only one student dropped out, believing this can happen
anywhere. Despite this, the government and the industry people must keep working on better
security and safety measures (Angela & Sarah, 2017).
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Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
Technology
It is seen as one of the important issue that has changed the way the tourism industry works. The
literature focuses on the fact that with slight changes in the technology is able to bring many
changes in the way the business works and earns revenue. Technological advancement, however,
has both positive and negative aspects of the travel and tourism industry. The negative aspect is
that due to the technology the bigger travel houses and richest players in the market have earned
a huge profit by investing in technology while the lower group and low revenue generation
companies have seen a major downfall. Positive examples include, with the use of technology,
the user experience and service quality is improved. The social media has allowed the industry to
share the best packages to travel around the world and plan their vacations at the best prices.
Companies such as Cosmos and MacBackPackers are promoting their businesses online to
generate traffic by creating a positive and exciting vibe, especially during the holiday season
(Xiang, Magnini & Fesenmaier, 2015).
The following are some of the examples and evidences of how technology impacts the travel
and tourism business globally.
1. Marketing: the customer’s first experience with the company in the early days was
company websites, in the current scenario, the customer is looking forward for
advertisements on almost every platform, Facebook, Instagram and on E-Mails, which is
continuously tapping their minds to create a holiday vibe.
2. The increased use of mobile communication and networking has helped the travel
business and customers use GPS tracking for customer safety and security.
Climatic Conditions
The environmental factors, including the country’s climate affect the tourist footfall in this
industry, the tourists prefers to visit destination on the basis of the climatic conditions and the
weather conditions during a particular time period. However, the industry’s packages fluctuate
with the favorable and unfavorable climatic situations, during favorable, the price hike and the
business is in a position to earn more profits.
The implication for the same on the industry: For example, Coral Bleaching is affecting the
Scuba diving tourists globally, the tourist travel to such places to visit underwater to capture and
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Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
enjoy the beauty of the coral reefs. However, in the current years the increased global warming
and industrial pollution has damaged the reefs underwater and oceans. In the Philippines, where
once, the sea warming from the El Nino phenomenon has resulted in Coral Bleaching (Huang &
Coelho, 2017). According to a report around 48% of Coral reefs have been dead so far. A high
amount of CO2 presence is also noticed, which will further result in more deaths if it is not
treated well in time and controlled. Looking at this reason, the tourist has no option than to
switch to other countries for diving experiences (Shakeela, & Becken, 2015). Another example
to look at the adverse impacts of the changes in climatic conditions is the low elevation of
Maldives which is why, the more the sea level will rise, the chances are high that the storm will
over wash the Maldives. Bahamas is yet another example in the list, where the temperature has
increased, the seal level is also rising, turning brackish the fresh water bodies due to the seawater
encroachment. If there will be more such storm surges it will negatively affect the hotels and
other buildings as well (Seetanah & Fauzel, 2018).
Conclusion
On the basis of the above study, it can be inferred that the travel and tourism industry is being
impacted by many contemporary issues. The three major issues pertaining to Technology,
Climatic conditions and security and safety are recognized. Despite the fact that the issues
pertaining to technology are positively impacting the industry, it is the duty of the top
management of the companies and the ministry as well as the general public to become aware of
the fact due to which the environment is affecting and security issues are arising. There must be
immediate planning and implementation of the solutions to resolve the issue, for the industry, the
general public and environment.
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Issues Impacting Travel and Tourism Globally
References
Angela. M. & Sarah. B. 2017. Visitor numbers fall at UK attractions after terrorist attacks
[Online]. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/13/merlin-
entertainments-uk-attractions-visitor-numbers-fall-after-terrorist-attacks [Accessed on 22
November 2018].
Giap, T.K., Gopalan, S. and Ye, Y., 2016. Drivers of growth in the travel and tourism industry in
Malaysia: A Geweke causality analysis. Economies, 4(1), p.3.
Huang, Y. and Coelho, V.R., 2017. Sustainability performance assessment focusing on coral reef
protection by the tourism industry in the Coral Triangle region. Tourism
Management, 59, pp.510-527.
Marwa Azab. 2016. Tourists’ security and safety is most important factor in any stable tourism
industry, says JWT Egypt CEO [Online]. Available from
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2016/03/09/tourists-security-safety-important-factor-stable-
tourism-industry-says-jwt-egypt-ceo/ [Accessed on 22 November 2018].
Seetanah, B. and Fauzel, S., 2018. Investigating the impact of climate change on the tourism
sector: evidence from a sample of island economies. Tourism Review.
Shakeela, A. and Becken, S., 2015. Understanding tourism leaders’ perceptions of risks from
climate change: An assessment of policy-making processes in the Maldives using the
social amplification of risk framework (SARF). Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(1),
pp.65-84.
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.
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