HND Travel & Tourism: Legislation and Ethics Sector Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of legislation and ethics within the UK travel and tourism sector. It covers the legal and regulatory framework, including key laws like the Tourism Act 1969 and the Package Travel & Tour Regulations Act 1992, and the roles of regulatory bodies such as ABTA, HSE, and CAA. The report also examines the impacts of health, safety, and security legislation on businesses like Elegant Hotel, emphasizing the importance of compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Data Protection Act. Furthermore, it discusses equality legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010, highlighting the need for non-discrimination in employment practices. Finally, the report explores various contract laws, such as the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Sale of Goods Act 1979, focusing on consumer protection and ethical considerations within the travel and tourism industry.

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SCENARIO BASED WRITTEN REPORT
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Air transport: this sector is regulated by the Air and Road Act 1979, Warsaw Convention
of 1929 and The Five Freedoms Agreement of 1944. These laws are managed by the Civil
Aviation Authority and they outline rules of safety, rights, compensation (injury, death or
property loss) of air transport passengers, flying and landing across territories, and passenger
cargo.
The main obligation of these laws and regulatory bodies is to promote and ensure safety
and security of passengers and their luggage, protect the rights of passengers, and ensure that
territories are respected.
3. Task 2
3.1. Task 2(A) Impact of the health safety and security legislation
It is the responsibility of Elegant Hotel to ensure and guarantee good health and adequate
safety and security of her employees and visitors/guests. Health, safety and security legislation is
meant to provide guidelines on the responsibilities and liabilities of travel and tourism companies
on matters proper health, safety and security of their employees and guests. The impact of this
legislation is to identify potential risks, hazards and harms that employees and guests may be
exposed to, analyze them, and establish appropriate strategies or measures of preventing and/or
managing/controlling them. The goal of the legislation is to prevent or control/manage all
potential health, safety and security risks, such as accidents and harms, to employees and guests
of Elegant Hotel. The hotel must ensure that it creates and provides a conducive working
environment for her employees. The facilities and equipment used must be properly maintained
and operated by trained and qualified personnel, workers must be in appropriate personal
protective equipment, emergency and evacuation procedures should be clearly outlined, and a the
company should hire a permanent health, safety and security officer. Workers should also be

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supervised accordingly to reduce chances of injuries and accidents. This is in accordance with
the Health and Safety at Work Act (The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 2019).
Another impact of the legislation is to ensure that personal data or any confidential information
is stored securely and not disclosed without the owner’s consent. This requires the hotel to
specify the methods, terms and conditions of collecting, storing and using personal information.
This requirement is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (Hall, 2010).
This legislation also requires the hotel to ensure that it has all necessary approvals and
licenses related to health, safety and security. Thus the ultimate impact of the legislation is to
ensure that the hotel has put in place necessary measures to protect and improve the health,
safety and security of its stakeholders, especially workers and guests. In other words, it
emphasizes the legal obligation and accountability of the hotel on matters health, safety and
security of its employees and guests. This will also affect the profitability and reputation of the
hotel in the travel and tourism sector. For example, guests will not wish to live in a hotel with a
bad record on matters of health, safety and security.
3.2. Task 2(B): Equality legislation in the English Legal System
Equality legislation is another legislation of great importance to the operations of Elegant
Hotel. The hotel should ensure that there is no discrimination on various protected characteristics
when recruiting, managing, paying or compensating workers. These characteristics are: age,
gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, belief or religion, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy
and maternity, and disability (Age UK, 2019). Job opportunities should be open and equal to all
qualified candidates. There should be internal structures and policies to promote equality. This
includes hefty penalties and disciplinary actions against any person found guilty of
discriminating, victimizing or harassing employees.

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There should be no unjustified behaviours against employees and the rights and obligations
of employees should be respected. Adequate support structures should also be put in place to
support people living with disabilities. This may require changes in working practices and
policies, and even physical structures, so as to accommodate people living with disabilities. The
hotel should also allow employees to express their concerns or give opinions without being
profiled. The equality requirements are in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998 and the
Equality Act 2010, which merged several legislations including Disability Discrimination Act
1995, Race Relations act 1976, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Equality act 2006, Employment
Equality Regulations 2006, and Equal Pay act 1970 among others (Equality and Human Rights
Commission, 2017).
The hotel should ensure that all job applicants and workers are treated equally. There should
be no discrimination, victimization or harassment at the workplace. The hotel should also put in
place proper structures to allow employees report cases of discrimination, harassment and
victimization without being oppressed. Strict adherence to this legislation can improve the
reputation of the hotel thus attracting more guests and increasing profitability.
4. Task 3
4.1. Task 3(A): General features of Acts
4.1.1. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
This Act requires businesses or companies to provide contract services whose benefits to
consumers meet re-defined standards. The Act outlines provisions under which customers can
make claims in case they are not satisfied with the products or services offered by the company
(if the company breaches the contract). Companies should also take responsibility of reasonable
liabilities including injury or death, damage or losses due to negligence, and poor quality or

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defective goods. For example, if a tourist loses his valuables that had been stored in the hotel’s
safes through burglary, it is the responsibility of the hotel to pay for the valuables. But the main
feature of this Act is that it deals mainly with exemption clauses that restrict the rights of parties
in the contract.
4.1.2. Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulation 1999
This Act outlines circumstances or characteristics of unfair contract term. It protects
customers against unfair terms and conditions in a contract. For example, if a customer makes
full payment for his holiday package in advance and the travel company cancels the package
without any prior notice and refuses to refund the money, he can have recourse to the court of
law (Net Lawman, 2018). Other features of the Act include: fairness test, characteristics of unfair
contract term, effects of unfair contract term, examples of unfair contract terms, terms that
cannot be challenges, and enforcement system of the directive’s terms and provisions.
4.1.3. Sale of Goods Act 1979
This Act outlines the conditions that must be met by all goods sold to a customer. The goods
must be fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality, and as described in the quotation or contract. The
seller is responsible for the faulty goods and the consumer has a right to return them for repair,
replacement or refund, as long as the claim is proved (Which?, 2015). For example, if a tourist is
served bad or expired food in a hotel, he has a right to complain, return the food and get a full
refund.
4.1.4. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
This Act requires companies to provide products or services to a proper standard of quality.
Its main feature is protection of consumers from faulty goods, poor service provision or poor
workmanship by the supplier. Other features include: provision of services or goods within a

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reasonable time and at a reasonable price, and seeking relief in case a supplier or service
provider breaches the contract. For example, a tourist can seek relief if he is charged extremely
high hotel prices without explanation or if he served breakfast at noon.
4.1.5. The Consumer Rights Act 2015
The key features of Consumer Rights Act 2015 include: goods sold must be fit for purpose,
of satisfactory quality and match a description; services must be offered using reasonable skill
and care, within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price; outlines unfair terms in a contract;
faulty digital content; rights of consumers to seek relief in case of a breach of contract; and
alternative dispute resolution (Citizens Advice, 2019). For example, waiters serving a tourist in a
hotel should not use abusive language or racist comments.
4.2. Task 3(B): Consumer protection legislation
The main consumer protection legislation that Tour Operators involved in the trade of
package holidays must take into consideration to avoid civil or criminal liability is the Package
Travel Regulations 1992. Under this legislation, the Tour Operator must provide the following
information in writing to the potential buyer before completing sale of the package holiday: visa
and passport requirements for the country of destination; health requirements; and security of
money paid by the buyer and how it will be dealt with in case of insolvency. The legislation also
requires that the following information must be included in in the package holiday contract; trip
destinations, duration at each destination, transport means that will be used, meals included,
itinerary, accommodation details (location, main features and comfort quality), payment
schedule, and provisions for cancellation.
It is an offence for a Tour Operator to provide misleading information about the package
holiday to consumers. If the tour Operator breaches this provision, she is liable for the

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customer’s compensation for any loss suffered – including financial loss and disappointment
(Laver, (n.d.)). There should be no discrimination regarding how the package holiday products
and services are offered. Information provided should be fair and justifiable (according to Trade
Description Act 1968). Tour Operators are also required to pay an annual bond to an authorized
organization such as Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). If the operator is offering
flights as part of the holiday package, the he must be licensed by the Air Travel Organizers
License (ATOL).
Other key regulations and regulatory bodies include: European Package Travel
Regulation, Financial Conduct Authority, and Merchant acquirers (The Travel Network Group,
2019). There is also the new regulation that took effect on July 1, 2018 is The Package Travel
and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (The National Archives, 2018).
5. Task 4
5.1. Task 4(A): Instances of ethical dilemma
Instances of ethical dilemmas that the Corporation could face and how to deal with them include
the following:
Income leakage: most tour and travel companies offer all-inclusive holiday packages or
enclave tourism packages, which lock out other small local companies from the businesses
because they have nothing to offer the tourists. In some cases, local residents cannot even have
access to essential commodities such as water and electricity at the expense of tourists.
Unfortunately, a very small percentage of total income generated by these companies find its
way into the regional economy to improve the lives of local residents. The best way to deal with
this dilemma is for the Corporation to formulate a policy where a certain percentage of products

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and services offered to tourists are provided by local businesses, and a certain percentage of
income generated is pumped into the regional economy to improve the lives of locals.
Green issues: this is related to environmental impacts along the supply chain of the
Corporation’s business operations. It can be caused by large volumes of water used by tourists;
emissions from airplanes and tour guide vehicles; high consumption of non-renewable energy;
and generation of large amount of waste at the hotels and improper disposal of the waste. The
Corporation can deal with this dilemma by developing a sustainable strategy for its operations.
The strategy should aim at increasing resource efficiency, reducing waste, lowering water and
energy consumption levels, ensuring proper disposal, reuse and recycling of waste, training
staffs, and educating their visitors about sustainability.
False advertisement: this can happen when the Corporation provides false information
with an aim of attracting more customers and making high profits. The best way to deal with it is
to ensure that they provide correct, complete and timely information. This can also be dealt with
by adhering to all relevant laws and regulations.
Employment opportunities: this can be faced when the Corporation outsource some
services, employ foreigners or people from outside the region, give lower-grade jobs to the local
residents or discriminate on the basis of gender, race, and marital status, among others. The
Corporation can deal with this dilemma by setting aside a certain percentage of jobs at all levels
for local residents, ensuring that all employees in the same job group are paid equally, and
providing equal employment opportunities regardless of gender, race or marital status.

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5.2. Task 4(B): Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
One way of dealing with most ethical dilemmas in the travel and tourism sector is to have
a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy (Coles, et al., 2013). CSR has become a very
important issue in travel and tourism industry in recent years and has significant impact on a
company’s profitability (Benabou & Tirole, 2010); (Blinova, et al., 2018). The main goal of CSR
policy is to ensure that the Corporation’s business also benefits the society and environment (de
Leaniz, et al., 2013); (Lund-Durlacher, 2015). However, this is not just about the Corporation
using part of its profits on charities, constructing roads or drilling water for the local residents,
but it is also about how the Corporation does its business or earns their profit. The Corporation
can fulfil its CSR by hiring local residents where the holiday homes are located in the Caribbean
Islands. They can make it mandatory for a certain percentage of jobs, for example 30%, to be
occupied by local residents. This includes business opportunities and contracts such as supply of
goods and provision of services. Other perishable products such as vegetables, fruits and milk
must be supplied by local vendors, and services such as general cleaning and waste
collection/disposal must also be done by local companies.
Another CSR of the Corporation is to minimize the negative impacts that the business
will have on the environment. This can be achieved by investing in renewable energy systems
(Albus & Ro, 2013); buying and using energy and water efficient equipment, appliances and
fixtures; installing water harvesting/collection systems; having an integrated waste collection and
disposal system; reusing and recycling waste; installing automated building management
systems; using electric vehicles for transporting tourists from one place to another (Fuchs, 2010);
and training employees on how to minimize resources and wastage. It is also important for the
Corporation to ensure that it consults all relevant stakeholders including the local community and

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the public before making decisions that will have social, economic and environmental impacts in
the region.
The Corporation can also offer free training to local residents on various issues. This may
include free business, entrepreneurship or social skills training. Best performing students can be
given scholarships to further their studies or capital to start their businesses. The corporation
should also ensure that they pay taxes to the local authority as required by law (Kubanski, 2016).
The Corporation can also set aside a certain percentage of its profits to invest in community
projects. This may include construction or repair of roads, classrooms, religious centres, drilling
of water, or donate to charities. Last but not least, the Corporation has the social responsibility of
promoting or marketing opportunities available locally to its international partners, sponsors and
customers.

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