Assessment 3: Contemporary Hotel and Tourism Issues in Melbourne, 2018

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CONTEMPORARY HOTEL AND TOURISM ISSUE
Assessment 3
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Tourist market potential.............................................................................................................4
Transport development...............................................................................................................6
Accommodation development...................................................................................................7
Crisis and risk management.......................................................................................................8
Social media influence.............................................................................................................10
Visitor experience development...............................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Reference..................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
There is the continuous growth of the travel and tourism industry in Australia and is also
supporting well in the development of the economy. Apart from the continuous growth and
development of this industry, there are various issues as well in relation with the particular
tourism destination that brings change there and affects the business in either a positive or
negative manner. In this report, there will be a detailed discussion in relation to the topic of
'Contemporary Hotel and Tourism Issues' of the nominated destination in 2018. The
selected destination on which report will be carried out is 'Melbourne'. Melbourne is
considered as the culinary and cultural capital of Australia with the good sporting tradition
which makes it a famous tourist destination.
The report will discuss about the accommodation and tourism issues in the chosen destination
which will cover several points like emerging tourist market segment that will be suitable for
the destination, impact of the contemporary transport development on the development and
growth of destination, identification of the current trends in the development of the
accommodation that will support in development of destination, identification of potential
and current crisis and risks, impact of social media on the destination's marketing and
explanation of visitors experience will be done that must be taken into consideration by the
managers of the destination. At the end of the report, there will be the provision of the
conclusion that will summarise major findings of the report in an appropriate manner so as to
make it effective and valid.
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Tourist market potential
Melbourne is a city where careers for tourism and hospitality may flourish in different roles.
All the major global chains of a hotel and a popular casino is also there on Yarra river, but
there are several hospitality and tourism issues due to which it is becoming less welcoming
for the tourists and its ranked at number 68 among top tourist destination (Stewart, 2017).
These issues may arise due to inappropriate tourist market segment which needs to be solved.
Market segmentation is being considered as the strategic tool to analyse the heterogeneity
between tourists by making groups of them in segments of the market which involves
members similar or dissimilar to each other. Appropriate market segmentation in Melbourne
can be done on the basis of five segments.
Tourist market segments Explanation
Sports spectators Sport is the major part of the society in
Melbourne and the sporting calendar there is
filled various electrifying events. Most of the
sports lover tourists visit there in order to be
a part of numerous sports events.
Nature lovers Another tourist market segmentation can be
done in regards to nature lovers. In
Melbourne, there are incredible natural
attractions where there is a wide range of
wildlife and nature (Smith, 2014). There is a
range of attraction that involves aquarium,
nature parks and zoo that may attract various
tourists.
Students In Melbourne, there are 8 universities that
teach around 300,000 students. The city is
having a youthful vibe and a lively university
culture that offers many opportunities for
employment. Due to these features, many
students will get attracted towards
Melbourne.
Obsessed with culture Melbourne is the style setter of Australia
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with dynamic and diverse inhabitants that
claim proudly that it is the cultural capital of
Australia. It is a multicultural and
progressive city and is packed with live
music, blockbuster theatre shows, art
festivals, activities and sports for kids
(Molina et. al., 2015).
Food lovers Travellers may also hit Melbourne for fine
coffee, wine, and food. The food scene there
is vibrant, exciting, cultural and has a wide
diversity of restaurants.
From all these segments the emerging and the most appropriate tourist market segment for
Melbourne could be of students. The need for education is continuously increasing in the
world and the travel agencies must focus well on the inflow of students which will increase
the travel and tourism industry in Melbourne.
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Transport development
Like various cities of Australia, Melbourne is highly dependent on the automobile regarding
transport, especially in outer suburban regions where there is the purchasing of a high number
of cars with around 3.6 million private vehicles. There is a continuous increment in the
popularity of automobiles that results in large scale suburban expansion as well as a tendency
for the expansion of urban sprawl. The city is also having a wide network of arterial
roadways and freeways utilised by private vehicles involving public transport system and
freight involving taxis and buses (Legacy et. al., 2012). Melbourne is having an integrated
transport system for the public on the basis of the extensive taxi, train, bus, and tram system.
The city is also having four airports and it is very easy for the travellers to travel without any
problem.
There is also a development of the transport strategy in Melbourne that sets policy targets and
key direction and make planning for strong growth. This strategy was adopted in the year
2012 and acknowledges the expected growth and gives an indication that the link is there
between how easily people can travel in and around the city. Improvement in the walking
environment of the municipality, up gradation in the cycling network and options regarding
city freight delivery are some of the things which are covered in the strategy (Theobald,
2012). All these contemporary transport development will make a positive impact on the
development and growth of Melbourne.
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Accommodation development
There are various current trends in the accommodation development that may impact on the
development of Melbourne. Some of these trends are being explained as follows:
 Introduction of many new brands: In Melbourne, many new hotel brands gets
introduced which will support well in the development of tourism. Various
international brands like MGallery (Accor), Aloft and Autograph Collection
(Marriot), Curio (Hilton) and many others have joined other designer brands.
 Revolution of technology: Technology has changed from virtual reality to artificial
intelligence and is supporting well in the design and development of hotels (Argent et.
al., 2014). There are many hotels where there is a replacement of welcome desk by
multifunctional welcome area with the check in from iPad. With the support of
personal mobile technology, guests are also having the capability to pre-select
services or rooms.
 Revolution of Lobby/Living Space: Transformation of functional lobby and
reception areas are being done into communal 'living' and vibrant spaces. Home-
away- from- the home concept has been introduced by the designers of Hotel by
redesigning public areas and lobbies from a business like spaces to living room style
space that are inviting and warm (Yang et. al., 2016). Interactive delis and cafes are
very common nowadays around the lobby in addition with re-charging ports, plentiful
lounges, and TV screen.
 Revolution in designs: With the support of the innovation in design, the majority of
the new hotels which are launched more functional and smaller bedrooms in addition
to wall mounted a TV. USB and power points are at the side of a bed to assist guests
in the utilisation of technology from the bedside.
All these new accommodation trends will make a positive impact on the development of
Melbourne and will support the city in attracting many new tourists and travellers that will
eventually support the development of the economy.
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Crisis and risk management
In travel and tourism industry there are various risk and crisis which must be taken into
consideration by the destination manager of Melbourne so that this crisis and risks could be
solved before they create any big issue in the industry. A crisis is basically a set of
circumstances or an event that may severely damage or compromise the reputation or
marketability of the tourism business, destination region or the entire brand (Beirman, 2016).
There are generally two types of tourism-related crisis that may be there in Melbourne and
will give a negative impact on the mind of tourists:
Type 1: Crisis events which could not be controlled by the management
In this type, there is the involvement of natural disasters, political disturbance, terrorism or
war, sudden global downturns in the economy, epidemics and crime waves.
Type 2: Crisis events which are there due to the failure of the management process,
actions or because of inappropriate contingency measures so as to deal with the
predictable risks.
This may involve business collapse because of the failure of management, financial fraud,
inapt strategic supervision, loss of data, huge turnover, destruction of business place because
of flood or fire due to inappropriate insurance cover or backup procedures and loss of staff
and management (Beirman, 2016). It may also involve equipment or service failure which
compromises the business reputation.
Apart from the crisis, different risks are also there in the hotel and tourism sector which are
defined as follows:
Risks Examples
Economic risk Fluctuation in currency, an increase in the
rate of interest, the downturn of the economy
Environmental risks Damage to the environment because of
human pollution or natural cause
Financial risks Fraud, dispute for contractual agreement
among consumer and supplier (Goulding et.
al., 2014)
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Human risks Error in service, war, terrorism, industrial
actions, riots
Security risks Terrorism, vandalism, theft, vulnerable data
system, and computer, lack of protection for
clients, staff, and guests.
Technological risks Failure of a computer system, loss, and data
corruption, and poor maintenance of bus,
train, and airline system.
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Social media influence
A major role is being played by social media nowadays in the promotion as well as marketing
of the destination. Majority of the individuals and companies are making use of social media
and it is being considered as the most significant means of getting connected with the users or
customers. In Melbourne, social media could be used to communicate with target customers
and also for the purpose of marketing (Hanan and Putit, 2014). Impact of social media on
marketing can be defined as follows:
 Transformation of travel research: In the tourism industry, social media can be used
for the democratization of online reviews. Travellers can research Melbourne and can
consider the views of different other travellers on review sites like TripAdvisor,
Instagram, and many others.
 Increase in social sharing: People love to share videos and photos which they took
while travelling. Social media supported well in expanding and facilitating the ability
of the people to share the experience of travelling with a large audience that supports
in the marketing of the destination (Lim et.al., 2012).
 Reshaping of the travel agencies: High impact on travel agency model is also there
due to social media. Social media could be used by travel agencies of Melbourne for
initiating situation updates rather than giving a response to the questions.
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Visitor experience development
There is different visitors experience sector in Melbourne that may attract many tourists and
travellers and will support the development of the tourist sector. One of the major visitor
experience development sector is Melbourne LIVE. It is a full day program that engages both
international and local speakers and addresses the issues faced by the visitor industry. A
format of the dynamic conference is there that makes the involvement of plenary, speakers,
the panel as well as breakout sessions that allows individuals to network and make a
collaboration. This event is attended by various visitors from different industry. Majorly this
event is conducted to bring out the concepts related to visitor experience, innovation, and
leadership altogether. Melbourne is well known for being a creative and bold city with edge
and depth (Destination Melbourne, 2018). When visitors get in the skin of the city and
different neighborhoods, they will analyse different layers of unique stories, multicultural
history, and fascinating locals. Here visitors will get the experience of local that will develop
a connection between place and self.
Another visitor experience sector is Melbourne Now which is a year-round program of
marketing is designed to majorly target the market of regional Victorian. Melbourne Now
also develops a quarterly magazine, eNewsletter, annual Melbourne Accommodation Guide,
ACCOM and tactical campaigns. ACCOM is being considered as the annual guide that
makes provision of the comprehensive overview regarding the apartments and hotels that are
having availability in Melbourne (Destination Melbourne, 2018).
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Conclusion
The report which is presented above is in relation to the contemporary hotel and tourism
issues in Melbourne. Travel and tourism is one of the most effective and growing industry in
the world and is supporting well in the development of the economy and provide employment
to many individuals. This report summarises that there are various issues related to tourism
and accommodation in the selected destination that is Melbourne. These issues could be
handled if there will be some changes and appropriate strategies for the travel business in
Melbourne. It has been found out that the tourist market segment there can be divided into
five segments like food lovers, sports lovers, students, nature lover, and cultural lovers. From
these segments, travel agencies could target more on the inflow of students as there are many
universities there that will help in the development of destination.
Apart from this, it has also been finding out that the development of the transport facilities in
Melbourne will also be very supportive of the development of destination. If the travellers
will experience good connectivity during travelling then they will get attracted more and
more. There is an integrated transport system in Melbourne which connects well with all the
major destinations. Some of the accommodation development trends are also identified in the
report that is beneficial for the development of a tourist destination. It has also been analysed
that various risks and crisis related with tourism must also be eliminated from the destination
to attract a high number of tourist and for the effective marketing of the place, social media
can be used in an appropriate manner. Social media has made an alteration in the marketing
landscape in the hospitality and leisure industry. Majority of the travelers determine plans of
traveling on the basis of social media shares and reviews that will also help in the
development of the positive reputation of the brand. There is also some visitors experiences
sector in Melbourne that is the major source of attraction for the visitors. Positive experiences
of the visitors play the main role in the overall development and growth of the destination.
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