Contemporary Issues in Travel and Tourism: Sri Lanka and Thomas Cook

This report delves into the contemporary issues affecting the travel and tourism sector, with a specific focus on Sri Lanka. It begins by outlining the significant role of the travel and tourism sector in the global economy and introduces Sri Lanka as a key tourist destination, highlighting its diverse landscapes and attractions. The report then examines the current issues driving changes in the sector, including environmental impacts, safety and security concerns, technological advancements, economic factors like disposable income and fuel costs, and lifestyle changes. Furthermore, it analyzes these issues in the context of Sri Lanka, considering environmental effects like climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as the impact of lifestyle changes. The report also identifies emerging trends in Sri Lanka, such as outbound and inbound tourism, sports and leisure tourism, the influence of social media, mobile tourism, green-friendly travel, and the impact of deals and discounts. It then explores how the travel and tourism sector responds to these changes, using Thomas Cook as a case study, analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and employing a PESTLE analysis to assess political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. Finally, the report discusses various marketing and promotional strategies Thomas Cook and the government can adopt to attract tourists and enhance the destination's appeal.

CONTEMPORARY
ISSUES IN TRAVEL AND
TOURISM

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1................................................................................................................................................1
1.2................................................................................................................................................2
Task 2 ..............................................................................................................................................3
2.1................................................................................................................................................3
2.2................................................................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................4
3.1................................................................................................................................................4
3.2................................................................................................................................................5
3.3................................................................................................................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
4.1................................................................................................................................................7
4.2................................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism sector plays a major role in global economy. It is all about the
opportunities for the people who have a passion for travel and it is the business of providing
information, transportation, accommodation and many services to tourists. Present report is
based on Sri Lanka which a destination of tourists including the identification of current issues
that are driving changes in travel and tourism sector. It also covers the emerging trends that are
influencing change in Sri Lanka. Further, it also covers tour operator, Thomas cook and the way
in which it responds to the emerging trends in travel and tourism sector. At last, it also highlights
the impact of changes in travel and tourism sector(Wachowiak, 2016).
Sri Lanka is an island nation which is located south to India in the Indian Ocean. Its
diverse landscapes range from rainforest and arid plains to highlands and sandy beaches. It
means there are number of nature based locations that attracts travellers and provide better
opportunity to tourism sector. Along with this, sandy beaches is also one of key attraction that
allows travellers to attain unique experience. Classification of few key attractions can be as
Sigiriya, Temple of Tooth, Minneriya National Park, Sinharaja Forest Reserve and Ravana Falls.
TASK 1
1.1
Tourist destinations are accompanied by various issues which are driving changes in the
travel and tourism sector. In this report, Sri Lanka is the tourism destination which facing some
issues regarding the tourism. Most of the issues are faced due to the changes in the socio cultural
activities in tourism. In addition to this, local government is putting immense efforts in the field
of developing tourist destinations to increase he number of visitors. There are various aspects
that are currently driving change in travel and tourism sector:
Environmental impact: There are various environmental issues which are faced by travellers
like change in climate, pollution and this are the threats of economy.
Safety and security: The major issue which is to be considered in tourism is safety and security
of travellers and to protect them form various terror activities(Becker, 2016).
Technological development: It has a major impact on travel and tourism which increase the
connectivity between people and countries so that they are becoming aware about the new
destinations and attractions.
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High disposable income: There is a positive impact of high disposable income of people on
tourism sector, it shows that when people are getting high income so that spending capacity of
customers is high.
Cost of fuel and travel: This is another issue which affect the travellers and cause a sense of
distortion to visit different places for tourists and it is a prominent issue in travel and tourism
sector.
Change in lifestyle: It also has a major impact on travel and tourism because day by day
alteration in life of people which leads to increase in the interest of travelling.
Thus, these all are the current issues that driving changes in travel and tourism sector(Evans,
Stonehouse and Campbell, 2012).
1.2
Presently, in travel and tourism sector, several issues are being faced and they are
analysed using relevant methods and resources. Sri Lanka is the destination for tourists which is
facing some issues regarding change and it is essential to analyse them with proper methods and
resources.
There is first major issue which should be analysed is environmental effect on Sri Lanka.
It includes change in the climate which increases the storm frequency and events of whether
which have disastrous impact and the regions affected by it. There are some of the other impact
which create risk such as global warming including heat waves and drought. In addition to it,
there is loss of biological diversity has a major impact on travel and tourism which threatens the
opportunities for wood sources, energy, medicines and recreation and tourism. Further, the
nature is especially closely linked with the biodiversity in which different environmental places
are the centre of attraction. It also can reason for loss of biodiversity in which land and resources
are highly affected by the excessive use of different types of resources. Thus, damage of tourism
potential is done by the loss of biodiversity(Spenceley, 2012).
Further, there is another issue of change in lifestyle of people and it is to be discussed
regarding Sri Lanka. It is a destination where different changes in lifestyle has huge impact on
tourism. It includes the various changes such as people are now moved on to the structure of
nuclear families which has negative impact on the tourism. In addition to the same, there is one
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of the positive impact which is alteration in the life of people, that they are more interested in
travelling.
Task 2
2.1
Currently, there are some influencing trends changes bring in Sri Lanka. Some major
trend in travel and tourism sector is the variety of different type of activities of tourism. Those
various types of tourism are as follows:
Outbound tourism: In Sri Lanka, most of the people travel in the nations territory only, so when
the people of other countries travel here, then they are recognized to be under outbound tourism.
Inbound tourism: In this kind of tourism, people travelling outside their country or when local
people are travelling outside their territory. Sri Lanka has a inbound tourism where people came
from various countries(Smith, 2014).
Sports tourism: This is the tourism in which travel undertaken for the purpose of engaging in a
particular sport such as cricket, football and to watch a favourite team play. People are travelling
Sri Lanka to explore the places of sports which are popular.
Leisure tourism: This tourism is only for the reason of entertainment and fun of people. There
are other tourism also which are adventure tourism and business purpose travelling.
Current trends in travel and tourism:
Social media: Social media plays an important role in each sector, so travellers are seeking
information about various destinations using internet and social sites which helps to increases the
awareness of different experiences.
Mobile tourism: Now a days, there is increase in mobile tourism trend in which people are using
mobile application for bookings and reservation and to find a proper accommodation during the
trips.
Green friendly travel: in the current situation, people are more attracted towards green side of
tourism.
Deals and discounts: Currently, people are taking advantages of different deals and discounts on
tour packages by last minute bookings (Hannam and et.al., 2014).
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2.2
In order to identify current trends by using proper techniques and resources in Sri Lanka,
there is one of the main technique adopted by travel and tourism sector that is market research.
Sri Lanka ha a huge impact of social media in which people using social media to search trips,
restaurants as well as to get information about airlines. This has a huge impact on travel and
tourism and it also helps them to get information regarding their destinations. There is another
trend which helps tourists to reach their destination which is transportation. Presently, mobile
tourism is another trend which adopted by the people and it helps people in online hotel booking
and restaurants which has a positive impact on Sri Lanka. In addition to the same, change in
lifestyle of people influence the destination in which young generation make use of travelling
facilities. It helps the tourism sector for attracting more clients. People are getting more
interested to go on a green side of tourism and get close to the nature because there is increase in
eco-friendly tourism. At the end, there are various deals and discounts which influence the
behaviour of customers and they plan according to the deals and discount on various packages in
the tourism industry(Kim, Prideaux and Timothy, 2016).
TASK 3
3.1
In order to analyse the way in which travel and tourism sector respond change in Thomas
cook. To survive in the competitive environment, Thomas cook required to effectively identify
the overall environment of business so that it can sustain its corporate activities and functions in
competitive market. There are various tools such as SWOT and PESTLE which are used to
evaluate the response of travel and tourism sector to change:
Strength- The strength of the company, it has skilled workforce and effective quality so that it
helps to increasing the profitability of business. Its major strength is its strong goodwill in the
market.
Weakness- High level of competition in market is the major weakness in the cited venture.
Unattractive market strategies and inflexibility to cope up with changes in tourism is also a
weakness of the company.
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Opportunities- The major opportunity for the cited venture is integrated web marketing. It is
helpful in encouraging services of accommodation and also a unique range of travel services is
also a opportunity of this enterprise(Benckendorff and Zehrer, 2013).
Threats- The level of global competition is very high and fragmented nature of trade is the
biggest threat for the venture. Moreover, change in climate and global warming is also a threat
for the travel and tourism sector.
From the above discussion, it is identified that company have various strength, weaknesses,
threats and opportunities which can affect the operations of the business. Further, PEST is
another method to identify the business environment. The micro and macro environmental
factors which are associated with travel and tourism sector by using PESTLE analysis. These
factors are stated as follows:
Political- It includes the interference of government in the activities of business. High taxes and
duties as well as changes in visa policies make most effect on the travel and tourism sector
Economic- Recent economic crisis affected this sector as UK is considered most expensive city
so that it is not a good sign for the tourist destination.
Social and cultural- The changes in travel and tourism industry facilitate by social factors such as
lifestyle of people considering the preference and taste, educational and income level of
customers. Regional and cultural aspects also influences the operations of business(Carlisle and
et.al., 2013).
Technological- this factor in travel and tourism sector includes online bookings of various
destinations as well as hotels and resorts. Company required to make changes according to the
market and as per the alteration in the pattern of technology.
Environmental- it includes the natural resources which affects whether like earthquake, climate
etc. So company should required to consider this aspects in the operation of business.
Legal- These factor include different legal and regulatory acts and rights to protect the
customers, employees as well as company.
3.2
In order to respond the change, Thomas cook can develop different strategies with respect
to marketing as well as promotion so that it can bring improvement in their actions. Different
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marketing tools and strategies for attracting the number of tourists. Organisations provide the
customised holiday packages to attract the clients and fulfil their needs. However, the tour
packages are on the basis of different options like sports, adventure and cultural tourism. It also
helps to increase the interest towards London tourism and increase the number of clients with
various choices. Role of government is also included where they are requires to impose taxes on
tourism so that prices can be lowered by tourism and it offers people to roam around various
places(Falk and et.al, 2012). So that it helps to increase in the number of clients and they
successful in attracting them for publicity of new places. Further, London tourism business use
various promotional techniques to promote the destination around the world. Thus, Thomas cook
can utilize television, travelling magazine and social media advertising to promote the place of
their destination. There is link between the Thomas Cook and London tourism in which London
tourism provides different facilities and various monetary benefits by which Thomas Cook
provides the various food and accommodation to the clients and able to generate sales and profit.
London tourism also gives opportunity to manage the different resources by they can entertain
their travellers during the tour. Further, London tourism also promote the tour operator to the
people s that they can enjoy the services of Thomas Cook. Thus, London Tourism helps Thomas
Cook by providing expenses for the purpose of different activities which are useful in order to
attract tourists.
3.3
Justification is made on the basis of strategies on which Thomas cook can use it with the
purpose to react as per the analysed changes. There are different strategies which are adopted by
the London tourism which helps them to attract large number of clients. It has been seen that
London is leading in the destination for people. It is essential to adopt effective market strategies
to satisfy the needs and wants of visitors in an appropriate manner. In addition to the same, it is
necessary for business to provide customised products which offered by travel agencies to
maximize overall revenue of the enterprise. With the development of marketing programs and
techniques of promotion, it helps people to get knowledge about the places they use to visit. It
encourages them to increase the potential to justify the destination place as per the preference
and to satisfy the needs and wants of people(Sin, Oakes and Mostafanezhad, 2015.). Business
adopted different techniques for promotion which includes social media, television and print
media in order to bring out the promotional activities. If there is decrease in the tax on tourism
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by government then people will be able to visit the destination because people are price
conscious. In addition to this, internet technology is rapidly used by enterprise to attract large
number of customers for hotel bookings and accommodation.
TASK 4
4.1
There are different issues and trends which cause changes in the travel and tourism.
Therefore, the main problem for Thomas cook is competition. Action plans of competitors and
prices offered by them influenced the stated business. Firm has to implement strategy and some
changes so they can get competitive edge over others. There is a change in the rules of
government with respect to travel business act which influence the travel and tourism industry.
Therefore, it is essential for business to response such changes and it helps to exists in market for
long period of time. In addition to this, there is retention of labour which is a issue that results in
affecting the operations. Furthermore, it also helps Thomas cook to increase the profitability and
productivity of its business. Thus, for this reasons Thomas cook bring changes in the websites
which includes the includes the information with respect the product and services to attract the
customers(Pearce and et.al., 2013).
4.2
There are some consequences of business which are not fulfil as per the changes in
market. In the current situation, cited organisation failed to provide the service as per the needs
of customers. Therefore, it will impact the large number of customers in order to utilize product
and services of business. This will help in achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation.
Furthermore, if business does not comply with rules and regulation of government they have to
close down the operational activities. Apart from that, it will edge to the rivals of business by
adopting the advanced technology for providing services. However, it is hard for the business to
exists in the market for long duration. Further, mismanagement of activities lead to failure of the
company and also has to bear losses for neglecting the rules and regulations. Hence, they loss
their customers as they are unable to provide preferred services to them(Kang and et.al., 2012).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from above study that there are different contemporary issues which
are evaluated in travel and tourism sector including the current issues that driving changes and
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impact of that changes on Thomas cook. It is essential for tourism business to respond towards
the emerging trends which influence changing in travel and tourism sector. Further, the cited
organisation faces different issues related to safety and security, health and social and cultural
impact on business. Also, the recent change in trend put an effect over the consequences of
operation to respond towards the market change of Thomas cook. Thus, the organisation adopted
different market strategies and promotional techniques such as technological advancement to
make changes in perception of clients. At the end of the report, there are various suggestions has
been given including positive and negatives impact of changes in functioning of Thomas cook.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Becker, E., 2016. Overbooked: the exploding business of travel and tourism. Simon and
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Benckendorff, P. and Zehrer, A., 2013. A network analysis of tourism research. Annals of
Tourism Research. 43. pp.121-149.
Carlisle, S. and et.al., 2013. Supporting innovation for tourism development through multi-
stakeholder approaches: Experiences from Africa. Tourism Management. 35. pp.59-69.
Evans, N., Stonehouse, G. and Campbell, D., 2012. Strategic management for travel and
tourism. Taylor & Francis.
Falk, J.H. and et.al, 2012. Travel and learning: A neglected tourism research area. Annals of
Tourism Research,39(2). pp.908-927.
Hannam, K. and et.al., 2014. Developments and key issues in tourism mobilities. Annals of
Tourism Research. 44. pp.171-185.
Kang, E.J., Scott, N., Lee, T.J. and Ballantyne, R., 2012. Benefits of visiting a ‘dark tourism’site:
The case of the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, Korea. Tourism Management. 33(2). pp.257-
265.
Kim, S.S., Prideaux, B. and Timothy, D., 2016. Factors affecting bilateral Chinese and Japanese
travel. Annals of Tourism Research. 61. pp.80-95.
Lyons, K., Hanley, J., Wearing, S. and Neil, J., 2012. Gap year volunteer tourism: Myths of
global citizenship?. Annals of tourism research. 39(1). pp.361-378.
Pearce, P.L. and et.al., 2013. Contemporary experiences of Chinese tourists in Italy: An on-site
analysis in Milan. Tourism Management Perspectives. 7. pp.34-37.
Sin, H.L., Oakes, T. and Mostafanezhad, M., 2015. Traveling for a cause: Critical examinations
of volunteer tourism and social justice. Tourist Studies. 15(2). pp.119-131.
Smith, S.L., 2014. Tourism analysis: A handbook. Routledge.
Spenceley, A., 2012. Responsible tourism: Critical issues for conservation and development.
Routledge.
Wachowiak, H. ed., 2016. Tourism and borders: contemporary issues, policies and international
research. Routledge.
Online
Ambrozy, R .,2012. 5 Key Issues Facing travel and tourism. [Online] Available
through:<http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/17212/5-key-issues-facing-travel-and-
tourism> [Accessed on 22nd October, 2016]
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