Contemporary Issues in Travel and Tourism: Industry Response

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of contemporary issues affecting the travel and tourism industry, with a particular focus on the UK. It identifies key challenges such as health concerns, economic instability, and terrorism, and explores emerging trends like sports tourism, domestic tourism, globalization, and inbound tourism. The report also examines the responses of major industry players, using Whitbread PLC as a case study to illustrate how businesses are adapting to these changes through strategic tools like SWOT and PESTLE analysis. Furthermore, the report highlights the impact of these issues and trends on the travel and tourism sector, offering valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the industry.

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1..............................................................................................................................................3
1.1................................................................................................................................................3
1.2................................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2..............................................................................................................................................7
2.1................................................................................................................................................7
2.2................................................................................................................................................9
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................11
3.1..............................................................................................................................................11
3.2..............................................................................................................................................13
3.3..............................................................................................................................................16
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................18
4.1..............................................................................................................................................18
4.2..............................................................................................................................................19
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................22
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INTRODUCTION
The travel and tourism industry is one of the huge industries in the world. It has been
continuously growing with time and also facing different changes in the operations of the
industry. In this report, different areas of travel and tourism industry have been discussed in
order to attain effective understanding and knowledge of the required areas. Initially, the
current issues and trends are analyzed that have a certain influence on the tourism operations
(Connell, 2013). Further, the response is evaluated which are taken by the tourism industries
regarding the changes. At last, the impact has been identified on the travel and tourism
industry regarding the changes.
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TASK 1
There is number of changes that occur in the recent time in travel and tourism industry. These
changes have influenced the business operations of the tour companies to the huge extent. The
event at London Excel was helpful in developing knowledge for handling the issues in travel and
tourism industry. An information pack has been developed which helps in understanding the
changes and issues effectively.
1.1
The travel and tourism in the UK have attained a huge growth in the recent time. In addition,
there is number of issues that occur in the industry which made several changes in the industry
(Moutinho, 2011). The UK is one of the highly preferable destination sites by the tourist and the
government also takes necessary actions for fulfilling the demand of tourists in order to grow
tourism industry. Recently, there are several issues that observed that affects the travel and
tourism industry in the country. Some of the issues are explained below:
 HEALTH ISSUES
It is the major aspect which affects the tourists to visit certain destination sites. The
major concern of the tourist at the destination site is that they are safe and healthy so
that they enjoy their tour. It is the responsibility of the government to take necessary
actions at the destination sites to encourage tourism.
 STATE OF ECONOMY
The recession period has resulted in a negative influence on the economy of the
country. It also increases the unemployment rate in the country (Wachowiak, 2016). The
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low economy has a great influence on the travel and tourism industry as the price of
products and services increases.
Figure – UK Economy
[Source - http://www.cityam.com/article/tourists-splash-cash-despite-weak-
economy]
 TERRORISM
The terrorism issue has influenced the travel and tourism industry to a great extent.
There are several terrorist activities that occurred in the European countries which
further influence the travel and tourism operations (Evans, et al. 2012). For instance,
mass killing in France where 141 people died and then in 2011 when several people died
due to riots. The tourists avoid visiting such kind of destination sites due to this issue.
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1.2
There are different issues that are observed in the travel and tourism sector which affect the
operations at great extent. There are other issues also along with the aforementioned issues
which affect the travel and tourism industry. The issues are severe weather, national and
international legislation, political unrest, terrorism, etc. Some issues are explained below:
 TERRORISM
The terrorists conduct terror activities at different sites in order to develop fear and
anxiety among the individuals. There are several terror activities of terrorists like mass
killing, bomb blasts, firing, explosion, etc. It further influenced the travel and tourism
industry in the country (Baker, 2014). The terrorist activities in the European countries
have highly influenced the tourism operations. The tourist's concern for their health and
safety during the visit to such kind of destination sites. For instance, terrorist activities in
France, London, Syria, and Turkey affect the travel and tourism industry.
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Figure – Terror threats on Tourism Sites
[Source - https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/629745/Turkey-s-tourism-in-
DECLINE-following-HIGH-THREAT-of-terror]
 POLITICAL UNREST IN NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
The government of Egypt and Tunisia has taken several actions for encouraging travel
and tourism operations in the country so that tourists visit their countries. Irrespective
of the government actions, the situation of travel and tourism industry didn’t change
(Dickinson, et al. 2014). In addition, the nearest areas are suffering from political unrest
and infrastructural development such as Libya and Algeria that affects the travel and
tourism industry.
There are several strategies such as low airfare, attractive tour destination packages,
etc. are developed by the government but the tourist avoids certain kind of destination
sites where the health and security are not assured.
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7

TASK 2
There are different trends in the travel and tourism sector that influences the change at great
extent. An information pack has been developed by the travel operator name Titan Travel for
their employees to understand the trends effectively.
2.1
The current trends have influenced the travel and tourism industry in the UK in the great
industry. The major current trends are sports tourism, domestic tourism, globalization, and
inbound tourism (Sharpley and Stone, 2010). The trends are explained in details as follows:
 Sports Tourism
The trend of sports museum in the UK has been increased rapidly. There are various
sports activities that are conducted in the UK such as cricket, football, tennis, snooker,
etc. which attract the huge number of tourists. For instance, in London Olympics, the
tourism industry has grown by around 230%.
 Domestic Tourism
The local people in the country visited the destination site of the country in the
domestic tourism during the vacation and weekend period (Falk, et al. 2012). The local
people usually visited other cities in the country due to watch sports tournaments or
visit scenic places.
Figure – Tourism in UK
[Source - https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts]
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 Globalization
The globalization has enhanced different activities in the country such as exchange of
ideas, products, opinions, services, etc. which helps the local people as well as the
tourists. The globalization has positively influenced the travel and tourism industry to
the great extent and develops growth opportunities (Desbordes and Richelieu, 2012).
The improvement areas are the development of communication, transportation,
infrastructure development, etc. The UK government also uses advanced technology like
ICT for promoting tourism.
 Inbound Tourism
The tourist from other countries visits the destination sites of the host country in
inbound tourism. The UK travel and tourism industry have been strengthened by the
inbound tourism operations (Sharpley and Telfer, 2014). The major preference of the
tourists at the destination sites are beautiful sites, transport facilities, weather, etc.
Figure – Inbound Tourism in the UK
[Source -
https://www.visitbritain.org/annual-review/annual-review-2015-16/inbound-
tourism-performance]
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2.2
The niche market is the subpart of the market that focused on the specific product. There are
different aspects which are considered in the niche market such as price range, production
quality, demographics, etc. The sports tourism has attained a huge growth in the recent time
which strengthens the travel and tourism industry of the country at the substantial level
(Hannam, et al. 2014). In the UK, various sports activities have been conducted such as cricket,
football, snooker, tennis, etc. which attracts the sports lover from all over the world.
POSTER
In the UK, several cricket tournaments have been conducted such as international cricket
matches, county cricket, etc. There is huge fan following of cricket that attracts people from
different countries to visit the country. In addition, the major tennis tournaments conducted in
the UK is Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments which are also watched by the visitors.
Further, several football tournaments are held in the country like English premier league, cup
matches, etc. that is highly famous in all over the world. It is also a major reason due to which
people visited the country. Along with this, the major snooker tournaments also attract visitors
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like World Snooker Championship, UK Championship, Scottish Open, World Open, European
Masters, etc. These sports tournaments and events in the country have highly attracted the
visitors from all over the world (Dickinson, 2011). In addition, it strengthens the travel and
tourism industry to great extent.
Figure – Sports Tourism
[Source - https://www.sportengland.org/research/benefits-of-sport/economic-value-of-
sport/]
According to Sports Tourism Index, it has been evaluated that the sports tourism in the UK has
been increased by 125% which helps in strengthening the country’s economy. In addition, it is
observed that the tourists have an opportunity of visiting different sports in the country at the
same period of time. Also, the cost of travelling and accommodation is low as compared to
other countries which also attract the tourist from different countries.
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